Roaming the Horizon
by Bitsy Rose
Summary: After Breaking Dawn, life continues for Bella, Edward, and the Cullens. Life, well existence seems to be going well until a void in Alice's visions causes heartbreak and catastrophe. Everyone is prepared to fight for the ones they love, but at what cost?
1. Stunned

**Chapter One**.

It had been nine months since my marriage, eight months since my last birthday, and four months since Christmas. As I was looking back on the past eight months of my new life I realized that so many things have changed. , In the living room of my cottage, surrounded by my new family. I felt…whole. All the years of wondering where I belonged, and with whom, was gone. I knew that this was where I was supposed to be.

Edward was sitting next to me, his arm on the back of the love seat, as I snuggled into his shoulder. On the floor, Rosalie was leaning on the sitting Emmett, playing with Renesemee, while Jacob sat on the other side of the room. They had decided that, for Renesmee's sake, they would act civil around each other. Grimaces were still passed back and forth sporadically, but they could both play with Renesmee at the same time. Right now, they were passing a ball back and forth while Renesmee was in the middle. This was a lot like pickle in the middle, but with Renesmee, Rosalie, and Jacob's reflexes, the ball would fly across the room. If a human were to see this they would be afraid something would get broken but I knew that would not occur with this family. Carlisle and Esme were sitting on the couch while Jasper and Alice were sitting on the armrest.

Everyone was happy, laughing, watching Renesmee dart back and forth between Jacob and Roaslie. She had gotten so big. I couldn't think of a more enjoyable picture. My life was just how I wanted it and I couldn't imagine it better. But suddenly I heard the phone ring, and I thought of Charlie. Yes, if Charlie and Renee were here then this moment would honestly be the greatest I could have ever imagined. Charlie could be, but Renee could not. I still hadn't told her about my recent modifications or about Renesmee, and neither had Charlie. I had talked to her on the phone and given her my number in case of any emergencies or if she wanted to talk. _Rrrrringggg Rrrri- _It cut off in the middle of the second ring. I expected to hear Alice's wind chime voice but I only hear the static from the phone. I turned to see why she hadn't said anything, and the phone was in my face. "Its for you." She said. I didn't even bother to ask how she knew. Her ability to see glimpses of the future must save her so much time. I, now relitavely flustered, answered the phone, "Hello." My mother had heard my new voice on the phone but was under the impression that the phone lines and my past illness had altered my vocal chords.

"Bella, sweetie!" I heard my mother squeal into the phone. Something very good had happened, that was the only reason she could be this happy. Unless she enjoyed talking to me that much. I quickly ran through the possible pleasant things that could happen; she and Phil were already married so it was nothing about a guy, I was already happily married so it wasn't about me and a guy, nothing good had happened with Charlie lately because I would have known about that before her. I couldn't think of anything, maybe she finally found a hobby to stick to, that would certainly be an accomplishment. I finally gave up.

"Hi mom!" I said sounding enthusiastic, "How are things?"

"Great. Fantastic. Perfect." She threw out a brief list of adjectives to prove her ecstaticness. "I have some very good news…" She said, as if I hadn't already guessed.

"Really? That's great, mom!" I exclaimed, whenever Renee was happy it was hard not to share the emotion. Kind of like Jasper but he could make you feel things that he wasn't, and he did it on purpose.

"Yes. Phil was signed, by the way, but training doesn't start for a few weeks. Once it does, things are going to be awfully busy for me, so I figured now would be a great time to come visit. I'm buying tickets as we speak!" My new ability to process and react was much quicker than before came in handy. Even though this was huge shock to me, I quickly recovered,

"Oh, wow. When are you coming?" I asked, trying to keep the enthusiasm in my voice. I looked around to see everyone's expressions. Edwards face was soft but I could see his eyes tighten, Rosalie was frozen, staring at Renesmee in Jacobs arms. Emmett's arms stiffened around Rosalie, and I could tell that he was worried, even under the playful smile stretched across his face. Jacob had Renesmee in a firm grasp on his lap. She was looking at me. Edward, being able to read her mind, quicly put his finger up to his lips right as Renesmee was about to talk. "Ssshhh…" He mouthed. Carlisle was waiting patiently for my mother to answer and nodded to Jasper. Most of my panic went away.

"Next week." My mother answered, "I cant wait! I will bring everyone presents. Well the girls at least. I started a beading class yesterday and I'm making necklaces and earrings. Aren't you excited? I haven't seen you since your wedding! How is Edward? I hope you guys are happy. Of course you are I can see how much he matters to you. I am very happy for you, I told you that right? He is perfect for you. Oh, you are so lucky you got it right on your first try. Wait!" She exclaimed "This isn't even the best part. I already called Charlie and he said that I am in for a big surprise when I get there, do I get any hints?" Suddenly all the faces in the room turned to stone. No, that wasn't a good way to explain it, stones couldn't have emotions, but all the faces in this room did. They were all the same. Everyone was in a worried state of shock.

"Haha." I said trying NOT to sound worried. The "haha" wasn't even a laugh it was just me saying haha. "No, no hints." I nervously answered. "Umm mom I have to go. Esme just got back from the, errr, mall, and I think she bought me something." This was a complete lie, considering Esme had been sitting across the room from me for the past hour.

"Oh! That's wonderful! Are you living with the Cullen's now? I hope your father is doing well. Oh, sorry you must want to see what she got you. Tell everyone I said hello!"

"Okay. Bye mom. I love you." I uttered. This was true, and I could tell I sounded very sincere because Renee's tone was very soft and subdued, it almost sounded like she was about to burst into tears of joy.

"I love you too, Bella, sweetie." And then she hung up. I could tell that this goodbye made up for my not-excited-enough attitude towards her visiting. I sighed and hung up the phone, laying it on my lap. After a long moment my eyes flickered up to Edwards, he saw the worry in my eyes. Suddenly all his features melted. I used to love when that happened. It used to make me feel like he was human, showing his emotions.

"Awww." He groaned. He couldn't read my thoughts like he could everyone else's but he often could tell what I was feeling if I let my emotions show. "She will love you no matter what. Don't worry." I sighed and looked down. I hoped he was right, but I didn't want him to see the doubt in my eyes. He pulled my chin up so that I would have to look at him. "She will. Everything will be fine." He lightly kissed me, then let go of my chin. Next, my eyes wandered over to Alice's face.

"Edward is right, Bella. Nothing bad will happen. She will be fine." Alice could always reassure me. But I had learned more now, and I knew that her visions were only true based on the decisions at this moment. I nodded and looked away. Esme was now kneeling in front of me, her hands on my knees.

"Really sweetheart. I think you will be more happy once you get this over with."

"Yes," Carlisle agreed, "Being able to have Renee in our lives once more would be a great joy." I looked around to all the other faces in the living room of Edward and my small cottage. They all were in agreement. This would be for the best. Slowly I realized that it would. We could keep Renee on the same need-to-know basis that Charlie was on, we would just need to be more gentle introducing her to it. Jasper could feel the change in my emotional atmosphere and laughed, still shocked by how easily I could control my emotions. Slowly everyone's worried faces spread into slow, wide smiles.

"Jasper! Are you doing this?" I asked looking around, amazed by how easily the emotions of everyone around me had been changed by my easiness.

"No!" He exclaimed "I stopped altering the mood as soon as I could sense when you were at ease." Wow. I never thought that my being upset ever upset anybody else besides Edward. This was just one of the many times I could tell that my family truly had cheerfully, honestly, and completely accepted me.

This was the plan: Renee and Phil would stay at the bed and breakfast in town. Charlie would be here before she arrived at the main house. Jacob would stay with Renesmee in our cottage until one of us went to get them. Alice, Carlisle, and Esme would greet them at the door. Everything was set.

Rosalie had previously assured me that Renesmee was not to be worried about. "She will love her. Nobody can resist her pull, you have seen it work yourself. If she makes stranger vampires react that way, I'm sure she can make Renee feel compassionate towards her. After all, she is named after her."

Hearing Rosalie, ROSALIE, reassure me, I was sure that our camaraderie was still strong. This made me feel much more confident in the present situation.

"It will be fine mommy." Renesmee reassured me as Edward and I were walking her to the cottage the morning of Renee's visit. We were walking hand in hand. Renesmee, Edward, and I. Renesmee was in the middle. Every so often, Edward and I would swing her back and forth sending her flipping into the air in front of us. Landing with a light thud. She would land as soon as we had reached her landing zone. She giggled and shouted "Again! Again!" And we would repeat her personal little ride. As soon as we were within the little clearing our cottage was placed in, Jacob came out through the front door. We flipped Renesmee once more. She landed and sprinted to Jacob, jumping into his awaiting arms. We took our time walking over.

"Hey Bells!" Jacob exclaimed. I flashed a smile at him quickly before he said hello to Edward. Edward nodded at his salutation.

"Jake. I think it will be Rose who will come get you guys. It should be after lunch so make sure you get her fed."

He nodded, "Sure, sure" And planted Renesmee on the ground.

I crouched down and kissed Renesmee on her forehead. "Be good." I grumbled, smiling at her angelic expression. Edward scooped her up and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Don't do anything reckless or stupid." He teased, and put her on the ground after ruffling her hair.

"Don't worry. I will be fine. YOU don't do anything reckless or stupid." Her eyes twinkled as she mocked her father.

"We'll be careful, trust me." He laughed.

We turned, as we were walking away Edward thanked Jacob again.

"Sure, sure." Jake repeated.

I went around making sure everything was in tact. I looked in rooms as I walked down the upstairs hallway, Alice was choosing which shoes to wear, Rosalie was painting her fingernails, Carlisle was reading in his study, and Esme was setting up the bathrooms. Passing down the stairs I was wondering where Edward, Jasper, and Emmett were. I assumed Edward was in the garage, and that Jasper and Emmett were hunting. I ruffled the pillows and couch cushions so things didn't look too perfect. Then walked and opened the fridge. A smell like wet dirt suddenly hit me and I realized that not to long ago this would have smelled delicious. Too focused in trying to see through the dim human memories, I was startled by the voice from behind me.

"Renesmee, check. Pillows, check. Food, check. Emmett, whoop bam you can check him off your list too." I turned at the loud, booming laughter from behind me. I grimaced and walked out of the kitchen. Emmett followed me to the dining room where I was fixing the flowers in the vase at the center of the table. "Seriously though, are you sure you don't have OCD of something?"

"Haha. Your hilarious." I mumbled. I turned around to face him, "Are you sure you don't have bipolar disorder or something?" He knew I was referring to his quick temper and crossed his arms, looking down.

"That hurt." He stated, sounding very injured. But when he looked up he was smiling his big goofy smile.

"Point and case." I said leaving the room. I sat down on the large, beige couch adjacent from the grand piano. I could hear the muffled laughter from up stairs, of course everyone had been listening. It was hard not to hear. I could even hear Rosalie laughing, I could also hear all their foot steps. Everyone came down stairs. I'm not completely sure where Edward came from but he silently sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me pulling me closer to him. He was laughing, just like everyone was before.

"I love you." He said in between silent laughs. I laughed once and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Not more than I love you." I said and kissed him again.

"Yes, yes we all love each other very much." Alice said upon her entering the room. "But Renee is arriving in t minus fifteen minutes!" All of a sudden everyone was up and moving.

"Okay Bella, why don't you guys go sit at the dining room table." Esme suggested. "I though that would be best. That way we could greet Renee and she could feel comfortable before shocked."

"Excellent idea." Carlisle retorted. "Grab cards or a game or something. Look like you have been playing for awhile." At this suggestion Alice threw the poker set at Emmet.

"Set it up." She ordered. "Go sit down." Leave it to Alice to become a drill sergeant, I could not picture her in an army uniform like Jasper had once worn, it looked wrong. I shrugged off the imaginary comparison and went to sit at the table. I sat down just as Emmett was dealing cards.

"How about five card stud?" He asked even though it wasn't necessary, he had already finished dealing. I picked up my cards. I had nothing, like usual. Any game of chance was never in my favor, or well almost never. Esme brought a yellow cake with chocolate frosting to the table. It looked like someone had taken a very big slice out of the cake. She saw me eyeing the missing piece suspiciously.

"Jacob." She muttered.

"Ahhh." I breathed out. Jacob was the only one who enjoyed eating normal, human food. The rest of us could, but didn't enjoy it. I leaned back in my chair, rocking onto the two back legs. I now did this out of habit. I wouldn't have dared doing that during my human years. I wasn't nearly coordinated enough back then. I heard Edwards breathing behind me. He was rubbing my arms. He did this when he tried to soothe me down. I leaned my head back to look up at him. He smiled down at me and tilted his head to one side.

"It will go fine. She loves you almost as much as I do." I smiled back at him and blinked. Blinking and breathing were habits by now. I did them without thinking, just like when I was human. He leaned down and kissed me. It still sent an electric tingle down my spine whenever he touched me. But this one lingered, it was a slow but building buzzing. Like the after vibrations once a rubber band was snapped. I knew what that meant. I had inadvertently lifted my shield. This meant he could read my mind. In the past few months it had been so easy I can now do it without thinking. I knew what Edward would be seeing. First it was a slide show of all of our previous kisses, each flashing by quickly, even for us, then I was thinking about Renee. I flashed to the dim memory of her wedding with Phil, a picture of her crying face before I left for my honeymoon, and the image as I pulled down the driveway leaving to go to Isle Esme. The picture of her with Phil's arms wrapped around her while she held Charlie's hand. These were some of my favorite, more recent memories of her. But as soon as that picture had registered in my mind, I had realized my shield was gone. I didn't want Edward to hear my worry and doubt over how she may feel. I quickly snapped it back into place.

"Dang it. I enjoy when I can read your mind." Edward whispered, "It makes my job easier." I still didn't quite understand what the point of whispering was when no matter how quietly you said anything, everyone in the house would hear, but I played along.

"And what exactly is your job?" I whispered, getting up from my chair and turning around. I faced him and he wound his arms around my waist pulling me closer into his chest. My head rested on his shoulder and her rested his head on mine. He kissed my hair before answering.

"To make you feel better." He could try, and I knew he would do everything he could to ease any pain I was ever faced with, but he could not protect me from everything. Believe it or not, there were things out of his power, but that wouldn't stop him from risking his life to protect me and, in the past, it hadn't.

"I know another job of yours." I whispered, looking up through my bangs at his tender, concerned eyes. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him fervently. Jasper cleared his throat, bringing me back to the present. I reluctantly broke off the kiss, and quickly looked at Edward, he appeared even more upset by the interruption than I was. I smiled at him and mouthed the word later, then turned to Jasper just as Alice was walking into the room. I met Jasper's eyes just before the guilty smile on his face broke out forcing him to look down at the table. I glanced at Rosalie who was leaning against Emmett's side before I heard Alice exhale. She was standing in the doorway. Giving Edward an extremely threatening look for someone slightly bigger than half his size. I laughed sheepishly and unwound Edward's arms from around my waist before sitting down in my chair. She shook her head as if trying to clear the scene that just was.

"Okay..." Alice said slowly, "She should be about rounding the bend on the highway. You have about four minutes. Get settled." Jasper turned in his seat to salute Alice. She smiled and stuck her tiny tongue out at him. She then pirouetted and leaped into the kitchen. I laughed, still amazed by how her every movement looked like dance. I blinked a few times and listened for the tires to turn onto the driveway. I heard it a few minutes later and my breathe stopped. Edward was still behind me and ,upon hearing my breathing stop, started rubbing my arms again. He bent down and kissed me on the cheek, letting his lips linger for a few moments. Once he lifted his head, the room was suddenly much calmer. The car pulled up onto the gravel in front of the house, crunching the pebbles underneath the tires. The engine turned off, the house door opened, and I heard Alice greet Renee. "Renee!" Alice shrieked. I could hear Renee's heart. It started beating faster at the sight of Alice, Esme, and Carlisle at the door.

"You ready?" Edward whispered into my ear. I nodded my head not trusting my voice. He kissed the top of my head.

"Edward, don't distract her." Rosalie hissed. I looked up and she smiled a sincere, encouraging smile. "You got this, Bella." I nodded again and then looked toward Jasper. I knew that he was trying to take away the tense edge of the room.

"Thanks, Jazz." Was all I could manage to mutter. He nodded and smiled then looked out the window at the rain drizzling down from the clouds. The windows in their house were more like glass walls.

I could here Renee shuffling up the first few steps, most likely wearing her rain boots I guessed.

"Can I have two please, Emmett?" Rosalie asked, "And don't even try to cheat, I'm watching you." I looked at her, quite confused. She smiled back at my wondering eyes. She held up the cards.

"Sure, sweetie." Emmett said sarcastically, batting his eyelashes, handing over two cards. Jasper and Edward laughed. Nothing all that funny had happened besides Emmett being sarcastic, and that was a common occurrence. I was baffled. Why were they all acting this way? Edward picked up our cards and put them in front of me. His arms were resting on my shoulders and his head was right next to mine. I abruptly realized what was going on, they were putting on a show. Just like the cake and the food in the fridge was mostly a show, we needed to act the part too. Rosalie gave me a look hoping that I understood what they were doing. I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

"Can we have one, kind sir?" I asked with the same amount of sarcasm Emmett had used. Emmett looked over at me, I batted my eyelashes and pouted my lower lip.

"Are you serious?" He asked chuckling.

"I think I was polite enough, wouldn't you agree Edward?" I tilted my head to the side and raised my eyebrows towards Emmett. He mumbled something indistinct about sarcastic women before Rosalie playfully swatted him on the shoulder. We all chuckled.

"They are in here." Alice supplied. "But first I must warn you. Bella mentioned that you asked about suprises? Well this may be the first of many to come." I heard the light pitter-patter of Alice's feet as she danced across the living room floor towards the dining room.

"I raise your bet by five, Emmett." Jasper announced nonchalantly pushing two pieces into the center.

"I raise yours by fifty, Jasper." Edward retorted. All of us turned to look at Jasper. I quickly realized the advantages of having a mind reader on your team during poker, so did Emmett.

"I fold." Emmet grumbled.

"One down, two to go." Edward said under his breath.

Renee's breathing got faster but slowed down just as quickly as it sped up. There were four sets of footsteps passing across the floor, one was lithe and sounded like it barely touched the floor, while two more were nimble and dainty but were in the pattern of normal footsteps. The last was heavier, it sounded more imbalanced. As they got closer, I started breathing again. There was nothing I could do now besides stay focused. That is best.

I closed my eyes for the last brief second, I kept them closed for a long moment. I opened them just in time to see Renee just as she stepped into the doorway. Her eyes grazed over the faces in the room, she did not make eye contact with any of us, she only was looking at our faces to find me. Upon first glance she couldn't. She didn't find my face. Just as she opened her mouth to speak her eyes caught onto mine. She gasped. Unlike Charlie, at first meet, she only had one emotion at first. Shock. Suddenly her eyes softened, I could see the moisture gathering on the bottom of her eyes. _Don't cry. Please don't cry, please. _I wished in my head. We looked into each other's eyes. I could see the questions and memories building up in her mind. I felt terrible for forcing her to see this way. I sucked in one breath, the raging fire was forced down my throat. I deserved any pain that this would give me. I had never been the reasons for my mom's tears, I was the one who mopped them up. All it took was that half of a milliliter of salt water to do it for me. All it took was the water tension to break and allow that one tear to roll down her cheek. I collapsed. My arms crossed and my head fell against my arms. I soon felt a hand rubbing my back. It wasn't a natural temperature. It was colder than Jacob or Renesmee, but it was warmer than Edward or Esme. It was Renee. I picked my head up as soon as I processed the heat of her skin against mine. It felt good. I had missed her. Careful not to move to fast, I adjusted in my seat and stood up. As I stood up, my pale sky blue dress rippled down my legs, the folds falling out one by one. Like water. I sluggishly stood up and turned to face my mother. She took my hands in hers, and smiled at me.

"I love you." I murmured. She quickly dropped my hands and wrapped her arms around my neck. I lightly hugged her backm trying not to touch her skin. I could feel her slight shudder under the cold touch of my skin. "I missed you."


	2. Family

**Chapter Two. **

My mother wanted the same thing as Charlie, but better. She didn't want us to tell her anything if it could cause us difficulties. She accepted how I was. I told her I didn't eat human food anymore. She asked if I ate cat food. I said no. She asked about dog food, and I said no again, but not without a few muffled laughs from Rosalie and Emmet. She said that she didn't really want to know, but she said I was even prettier than before. She seemed very excited at how gracefully I could move now. It made me happy that she accepted my new changes so easily. She understood that none of us were human. She asked me, "If your not human, what are you?" This was a very difficult question but I told her exactly what Edward told me, "I would rather here your theories." She asked about the same things I did plus more. "Oh my god." She said one time, "Are you all angels?" I could tell by the tone of her voice that she thought she was right. Edward tried to muffle his laughter but to no avail. He burst out laughing, Emmett joined in with his loud guffaws, Alice, Esme, and Rosalie giggled. Carlisle looked at me expectantly, "Not exactly." I said then began giggling myself. "Well all of you laughing shows me I'm dreadfully wrong. But you can't be demons, you are all far too nice and caring." She glanced from face to face. Her comment had silenced us all. I waited for Edward to snap. This was one thing he did believe in. He thought he was a monster. "Your close." Edward stated blankly. "No, I'm not." Renee contradicted, "You have saved Bella too many times. You may be a demon to yourself, but to Charlie and me, you all are angels." Edward's face melted. I could tell that he had never thought about it that way before, and so could everyone else. All eyes were on Edward as he processed this. Esme smiled proudly at her son, "Edward," She said to break the silence, "Would you like to go get a board game?"

When I came back from the kitchen, I leaned against the doorway with a cup of tea in my hand for Renee. I watched as my new family and my old family interacted with each other. They were playing scrabble, I never thought anyone could have fun while playing a game as boring as scrabble, but, then again, I had never played with Emmett. Apparently, Emmett had a thing for cheating, but he was not good at it.

"Taferta." Emmett announced putting down his tiles. The tiny, wooden squares looked ever smaller against his mammoth fingers.

"Excuse me?!" Rosalie exclaimed. "That is definitely not a word!"

"Seriously, Emmett," Jasper added, "If you are going to try to cheat at least make it believable."

"But it is a word!" Emmett exclaimed in forged outrage.

"Really what does it mean?!" Rosalie shrieked leaning over the table to get in Emmett's face. "Sweetie." She added calmly and smiled sheepishly.

"It is a, err, fabric." Emmett supplied. Alice burst into waves of laughter.

"That's taffeta!" She managed to explain between fits of her tinkling, wind chime laughter.

"Dang." Emmett muttered under his breath. All the girls in the room were laughing hysterically while the boys exchanged confused glances. The girls finally settled down enough to speak.

"Wow, Rose. Your husbands some genius." Alice said still giggling slightly.

"Its okay, darling, clothes never really were your forte." Rosalie leaned over and patted Emmett on one of his broad shoulders, then turned towards Alice. "Oh, like yours could do any better."

"Mine could." I said, walking into the room and standing behind Edward. I placed Renee's tea on the table and rubbed Edward's shoulders.

"Ha! Okay." Rosalie almost snorted sarcastically in my direction.

"Honestly, Bella. Just because Edward's a know it all…" Alice trailed off.

"Fine. Edward, what is my favorite fabric?" I questioned.

"Stretch cotton." Edward answered quickly.

"Know it all." Emmett muttered under his breath then laughed boisterously. Everyone ignored him.

"Everyone knows that Bella." Alice said disapprovingly. I shrugged and smiled.

"Here, mom, you said you wanted tea right?" I asked. Of course she asked for tea, I don't forget things anymore.

"Did I?" Renee asked rhetorically as she picked up the glass and took a sip. It smelled disgusting to me, but she seemed to enjoy it.

My mother seemed very comfortable even though she knew that we were not human. She knew that we were good, and she knew that as long as I was in Esme's care I would be fine. She hadn't asked anymore questions, and I was thankful. I knew the questions would start up soon enough when we had to spring the next surprise on her. This time she would have Charlie here for support. She may need it. He had to wait until Charlie was here, it was unanimously understood.

Alice's head shot up. My gaze automatically met hers. "Bella, would you like to come with me to make some sandwiches?" Alice asked.

"Sure," I answered, then turned to Edward, "Would you like to help?" Edward nodded and got up. We went into the kitchen. "When is he going to be here?" I asked Alice,

"Any minute." She answered.

"He should pull onto the driveway in about two minutes." Edward whispered. No matter how quietly we spoke the others would hear us. "Esme, get ready to answer the door." Edward said.

About five minutes later another set of tires were crunching the gravel in front of the house. A pair of heavy feet treaded up the stairs and across the porch. He knocked on the door and Esme answered it quickly.

"Charlie." Esme greeted him cordially. "Its so good to see you."

"Thanks, Esme. Its always a pleasure to visit." He followed her through the door and took off his raincoat. I went out to great him.

"Bells!" My dad exclaimed as I went around the corner. I hugged him quickly. "Where is she? Is that Renne's car?"

"Hi Charlie." Renee said coming around the corner. She was eyeing his arm around my shoulder and my arm around his waist, clearly wondering when we became so close. He smiled.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Good, good. Kinda shocked by our daughters…er…changes." She stammered.

He looked at me and I could tell he was wondering about Renesmee. I shook my head. "Yeah, she looks good doesn't she."

Renee nodded.

"You haven't even seen all of them yet." Charlie hinted. Edward's eyes tightened and Charlie turned his laugh into a cough. "So, should we sit down?"

"I think we are all done with Emmett's cheating. Let's sit in here instead." Alice teased coming around the corner.

"Alice!" Charlie exclaimed. She rushed over to give him a hug. Well, not really rush, because we were all trying to move slow, but rushing for a human. They had a quick embrace and then led everyone over to the couches. Edward and I sat on the love seat with Alice and Jasper on the armrest, while Emmet, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle shared the couch. Renee and Charlie got the two armchairs. We all looked around exchanging glances and every so often looking at Renee.

"So where is my special friend?" I couldn't tell whether he was doing it as an icebreaker or as a way to ease into the subject. Either way it didn't work as he hoped.

"Who?" Renee asked. She wasn't slow, and she certainly wasn't unobservant. "There is something your not telling me…" She said slowly. I sighed and looked at Rosalie. She then looked at Edward. He nodded very subtly.

"Excuse me." Rose said getting up and walking to the back door. I heard it open and close, but I highly doubted that Charlie or Renee did.

"Renee," Esme started, "Edward and Bella have another little mouth to feed."

"Oh! Like a dog? That's so cute! What kind is it? What did you name it?" She turned to me, her eyes sparkled with excitement,

"Its, er, not a dog…" I said trailing off.

"A cat?" she asked, I could tell she was hoping she was right, but doubting it at the same time.

"No, no." I answered.

"You don't mean…you didn't….but its only been…did you…how can…what are you talking about." Renee couldn't form complete sentences. If this is how she reacted to this news, how would she react to seeing her? I shook my head. Carlisle was looking at Edward. Edward shrugged and turned towards me. He looked at me with a questioning glance. I didn't have time to react to his look, the door opened and closed. I could tell that Rosalie was being loud on purpose. She was announcing her arrival. I took the break in conversation to get up. Edward didn't get up to follow me, but once he realized where I was going I heard him get up.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Edward asked Renee, he sounded honestly worried about it himself.

"Of course." Renee choked out. As soon as I was in the kitchen I put my fingers to my lips to warn Renesmee to be quiet but Rosalie already had that covered. She had Renesmee up on the counter and was being so quiet that I didn't even hear her whispering until I was within the kitchen walls.

"You must be very quiet right now." Rose whispered, "Bella's mommy is in there and Bella loves her very much. She is more like Grandpa Charlie more than Auntie Esme. You cannot bite her." Rosalie looked up to me then back down at Renesmee. Renesmee was looking at me but put her hand on Rosalie's cheek. Rose nodded as Renesmee got up and walked silently to the end of the counter. I walked over to her and picked her up. She put her palm flat against my face. It showed a picture of her remembering Charlie holding her. She was then in a woman's arms but they were not mine nor Rosalie's. You never saw the woman's face, this image had a tone of wondering and questioning to it. She wanted to see Renee.

"Okay." I whispered almost silently, "But you can't bite her. And don't show her things the way you show us okay? At least not yet." She nodded. Edward came in silently and wrapped his arms around my waist and put his head on my shoulder, looking down at Renesmee.

"She understands." He whispered. I nodded and looked up at Rosalie. She walked over and squeezed my arm lightly and smiled, then walked into the other room. He spun me around to face him. "Your sure you want to do this?" He asked. I sighed and looked down at Renesmee's face, remembering her want to know my mother. I stared up into Edward's eyes and nodded.

"I do."

He laughed, and kissed me.

"Just like the wedding." I whispered. He smiled, looked at Renesmee, and crouched down to her level.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Edward asked while holding Renesmee's little hand in his. She nodded and smiled, showing a row of sparkling white teeth. He kissed her on the cheek. He then let go of her hand and took mine. We walked into the living room.

Charlie smiled, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Esme, and Carlisle's eyes were all on Renee. Renee gasped.

"Shes…shes…beautiful." She wasn't trying to do the math in her head like Charlie, and wasn't wondering why she was here, like Sue, she was just staring in awe at the gorgeous child I was carrying. I'm sure it must have looked strange for my small, frail structure to be carrying what was now a small child, somewhere near five years old. It wasn't strange for me at all. Renesmee still fit into my arms in the same way she did when she was little, like two puzzle pieces fitting together.

"Mom, this is Renesmee." I said slowly. I was watching my mom, trying to find some sense of anger or pain. I couldn't find any.

"Can I…can I hold her?" She asked. The tears were building up behind her eyes again. Was it just me or was she more emotional than she used to be? I looked down at Renesmee and then at Edward. I wasn't sure if Renesmee understood this. Edward nodded. I forced myself to walk over to where Renee sat in the armchair. She hadn't gotten up, she only had turned her head. It was as if her lower body was just a statue. She didn't move a muscle until I put Renesmee on the floor. Renee adjusted herself, she then decided it would be best to just get at her level. Renee got out of her chair and kneeled on the floor. Renesmee watched her carefully and then walked to stand in front of her.

"Hello. My name is Renesmee." Renee was in awe, she looked up and stared at me in disbelief. I broke my mother's gaze and knelt next to Renesmee. I put my hand on her back. She felt warm through her long sweater. Renesmee took her hands out of the pockets of her corduroys, that were tucked into her rainboots, and extended one towards Renee. I, being the mother, am prone to thinking of the worst. I reached out all too quickly for my human charade and put her hand down by her side. Renee was startled. She blinked a few times and then looked down to Renesmee.

"I was just going to shake her hand, mommy." Renesmee was honestly confused. Edward had taught her to be polite and here I was discouraging it.

"Sorry sweetie. Go ahead." I let go of her arm. This time she slowly put it up. Renee reached out to take her hand.

"It is very nice to meet you Renesmee. I guess I'm your grandma." Renee's voice broke on the last word but she quickly recovered, "My name is Renee." I could tell that Renee was trying to take in this whole scene and not show her mix of emotions. She already was in love with Renesmee, she was happy but sad at the same time. She stared at Renesmee's bouncing ringlets, looked into her eyes and smiled. Unexpectedly, she reached out and lightly tugged on one of Renesmee's curls. Renesmee giggled and smiled. She threw her arms around Renee's neck. Renee fell back onto her feet and put her arms around Renesmee's waist, pulling Renesmee onto her lap. "Renesmee, that is a very pretty name."

"Thank you. Mommy says that it is my two grandma's names combined. It is. See you are Renee and that is Esme." Renesmee explained pointing to Esme. "Ruh-nez-may. My mommy calls me Renesmee, and so does Auntie Rose, but Jacob calls me Nessie. So does Seth and Billy, and sometimes Charlie too."

"Oh." Said Renee, she was amazed by how intellectual and talkative Renesmee was for her size. "Who is Jacob?"

"Jacob is my friend. He is my favorite friend. He comes with me when we go-"

"Alright well why don't we all go find Jacob." Edward suggested, seeing where this conversation was headed.

"Oh, I'm already here." Said a deep, rough voice. Jacob. Jacob walked into the living room, "Hello Renee. Great to see you again." Renee's eyes seemed to bulge out of her sockets. "Hey Charlie." He greeted.

"Jake." Charlie said with a nod and stiff wave.

"Jake? Jacob Black?" Renee wondered outloud, "You have gotten very, very tall."

"Yes I have." Jacob agreed smiling.

"_This_ Jacob is your best friend?" Renee asked Renesmee.

"Yep." Renesmee announced, smiling like she had just won a million dollars. You could tell that she was very proud of her "best friend". She got up and walked over to Jacob. She put her hand on his face and he nodded.

"What-what did she just do?" Renee asked, she was staring wide-eyed at Renesmee who was now in Jacob's arms.

"She is very special," Edward started, "She grows very fast, and she is much more advanced in some ways than others. She also has a special way of communicating." Edward looked at me as if her was asking me if it was okay. I nodded towards Jacob and he stepped closer. I nodded to him again and he closed the gap across the room to Renee in two long strides. Renesmee stared at me. Her big, brown eyes bored into mine. I nodded slightly, encouragingly. She lowly reached out towards Renee. Renee leaned closer, her eyes searching the crowd but finally settling on Renesmee. Renesmee lightly placed her warm, soft palm against Renee's cheek. I could tell that Renesmee had showed her something. Renee was startled, she pulled away slightly and blinked spastically a few times. A slow smile spreading across her face, she leaned in towards Renesmee. She took her from Jacob's grasp and sat down in the armchair. Renesmee was placed on Renne's lap, her hand positioned lightly against Renee's cheek. Renesmee curled up into Renee's chest. Renee leaned her head down to rest on top of Renesmee's.

I leaned into Edward's chest. It was late, around eleven. Renesmee was curled up on Renee who was stretched across the couch, Emmet, Charlie, and Jacob were watching a game Emmet had taped, and Esme, Alice, Carlisle, and Jasper were playing another round of scrabble at the dining room table.

Edward tightened his arms around my waist. We were sitting on the love seat, giving me a perfect view of everyone surrounding me. I was right before, this was the best moment, the moment that I had pictured before, was here. My whole family was with me. My new family with my new self, and my old family with my old self, living together happily.

I pressed myself tighter against Edward, my eyes closed. Not moving besides the even rising and falling of my chest. I hoped this looked like I was sleeping.

"Looks like the happy mothers are out." Charlie announced. Emmett looked over at me and then glanced at Renee. Jacob tried to muffle his laughter, but he couldn't and left the room. I could hear Emmett's big feet walking across the floor towards us, he stopped right in front of us. I didn't feel anything, but decided it would be best to "wake up". I stretched and flexed my muscles, yawned and then opened my eyes. Edward kissed the top of my head and then pulled us up. I took a big breath, and went to go wake up my mother. I lightly placed my hand on Renee's upper arm. She flinched and opened her eyes. Her head moved slightly, side to side, looking around disoriented. Then she felt the warm body next to hers. She looked down at Renemsee. I smiled and picked her up, barely moving the couch, barely touching Renee. Renesmee did not wake up as she shifted arms. Renee sat up.

"She is really amazing, Bella."

"Thanks mom."

"You have done an amazing job."

"Thanks, mom."

"I mean it, Bella." I could tell she did, the moisture in her eyes proved there was real emotion behind her words.

"I know you do." I said softly. I reached out to rub her arm.

"You have practice," She answered, "You took care of me ever since you could walk. Bella, you're already an amazing mom. You have practice and use it wisely. Renesmee is a very lucky little girl." She smiled warmly. The moisture hadn't overflowed yet. Mine would have if it could. I sucked in a breathe of air, gasping, I gave Renesmee to Edward. He took her automatically. I wrapped my arms around my mother.

"No, mom…you taught me." She hugged me back.

"Thanks, Bella, sweetie." We both stood there embracing each other. I could feel her shiver and I let go. I smiled apologetically. "Its okay. I have to go. I'll visit tomorrow, if that's okay?" She asked.

"Of course, your welcome always." Esme said. Esme stepped over and gave my mom a quick hug. Renee walked to the door, and put on her zebra rainboots, Charlie was right behind her. We all exchanged hugs by the door. Charlie pulled out first. Renee wasn't sure if she knew the way back to the hotel, so Charlie offered to show her.

I shut the door and exhaled. There was still the saturated smell to the air and it burned my throat slightly when I breathed in. Esme was at my side immediately,

"You did great, Bella. It went really well."

"Yeah, honestly, Bella." Emmett said while nodding.

"Thanks guys. You were right Carlisle, it will be easier now."

Walking through the woods at night was no different from during the day besides the color change. The trees glowed a light plum color, and the moon added a lavender tint to Edward's skin.

Edward squeezed my hand lightly, "Yes?" I asked gazing up into his eyes.

"I was just thinking back to before you were changed, I always pictured my happiest moment after you changed would be us together in our own house, or you and me running together, or something else were it was just you and me, but earlier, while you were pretending to sleep, I realized that I was very, very wrong." He tore his eyes away from mine and looked up at the stars. "With our whole family surrounding us, and seeing how happy you were having everyone who was close to you there even after you changed, I recognized that this was the best time. I had the reassurance of being with you forever, our loving daughter, and our whole family together. It was amazing, truly amazing." He was still looking up at the stars, I wanted him to look at me. I wanted to be able to see his eyes, the only way to tell his emotion. I waited to reply until he looked at me.

Finally he looked down, "Are you absolutely positively sure you cant read my mind?"

He laughed, "Yes, I'm positive." I smiled up at him as he leaned down to kiss me, but then I felt a little tug on a lock of my hair. I shifted my gaze down to Renesmee's little tiny face, she was smiling up at us, wide awake.

"How long have you been awake, sweetheart?" I wondered. She lifted her miniature hand and pressed it against my neck.

I saw Edward and me. Smiling, holding hands, her thoughts showed me images and short videos of Edward and me, and occasionally Renesmee. Then it replayed the conversation that Edward and I had just had, her memory made it glow with hope, want, and adulation. By the time her montage was done, we had reached the small clearing of our cottage. I didn't quite understand the meaning behind her illustration. I looked to Edward for clarification. He understood immediately, "She is happy, she enjoys being around us as much as I enjoy being with you." He smiled his genuine, crooked smile. Every time I see that smile I get butterflies in my stomach, and tingles down my spine.

We were a family. I was the mother, Edward was the father, and Renesmee was the child. She had the best aunts, the best uncles, the best friend imaginable, and the best grandparents, and, of course, the best father. We were the perfect family, except that she was a vampire hybrid, her best friend was a werewolf, and, a good portion of the people who surrounded her were vampires.

We walked through the living room, down the hallway, and into Renesmee's room. I looked at her pink walls and the delicate swirling pattern of the paint. It was calming. Renesmee was already back, crawling onto her bed. She stuck her feet under the soft comforter and looked up at me. I smiled and sat on the end of her bed. Edward lounged to the right of her. She yawned and snuggled deeper into the covers as Edward stood up from the bed. I pulled the comforter up to her shoulders and stared at Renesemee. Her hands were together under the side of her head and her eyes were delicately closed, sleeping in the perfect position. She looked like a small, childlike angel. Edward and I kissed her on the forehead before leaving the room.

I shut the door carefully and turned around. Edward was right in my face as soon as the door clicked shut. He wrapped her arms around my waist and lifted me up slightly before planting his lips on mine. I placed my hand on his collar bone and tangled the other in his hair.

Our lips moved together in harmony as we stood in the hallway. I pulled my face back slightly. He kissed my neck and jaw. I said nothing but Edward understood. He wrapped his arms under my knee and around my shoulders, lifting me off the ground. He ran, cradling me, into our room.

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	3. Dignity and Sanity

**I know it's pretty boring so far and I'm sorry. It will get better I promise.**

**Chapter Three.**

I heard the opening of our front door and light dance like footsteps prancing through our door.

"Alice…" Edward moaned. I sighed but rolled out of bed. I spun around and faced Edward. He looked quite perturbed, sitting in bed with his arms crossed. I sped into the closet as I heard Alice entering the hallway. Edward refused to move from under the comforter on our bed and was still rested there when I emerged from the closet wearing a light green t-shirt over a pair of faded jeans.

There was a timid rap on the door and Edward turned over, pushing his face into the pillow. I went to the door. I opened it a crack and peeked my head around the corner.

"Good morning sunshine!" Alice's chipper voice greeted me as soon as the door handle turned.

"Alice." I said cordially, opening the door wider.

"Alice Cullen." Edward's muffled voice sounded through the pillow, "It is 5:30. Have some sanity."

"Have some dignity, Edward." Alice retorted smiling, "At least Bella put clothes on." Edward didn't reply, he just kept his face shoved in the pillow.

I attempted to muffle a few giggles before stepping outside."Bella," Alice began in a pleading, coaxing voice. It reminded me of the dim humid memory of her warning me of the graduation party. Oh, dear. A party.

I moaned and gave Alice a pitty-me look before stalking off to the main room. She followed in pursuit, not letting me escape.

I plopped onto the couch and looked at her expectantly. I evened out my breathing. Alice stared at me and sat on the couch leaning on the other armrest.

"Bella." Alice stated again. It sounded more of a complete sentence rather than the beginning of a speech. "It will be her first."

"Ugghhh! No. I will not be the center of another gathering. I can't even think of any excuse to have one! Honestly, Alice. I know you adore parties but I just can't take it. Throw one for Rose!"

Alice stared at me quite confused. She tilted her head to one side, a calm, questioning gaze on her face. Then she smiled a perceptive grin.

"The party was not for you, Bella." Alice explained smiling, flashing her perfect teeth. I simmered down and could quickly feel myself regaining calmness.

"Oh. Then who?" I asked.

"Renesmee." Alice said. That reminded me, I listened and heard her soft, even breaths in her room. She was still asleep.

"Oh!" I said with more excitement. "But her birthday isn't in a few months."

"Well, I thought it would be nice if we had two separate parties. A human one, then a vampire one. The vampire one being first, of course." Of course, we wouldn't want the scent of humans to be tantalizing to our friends.

"Excellent." I commended Alice on her excellent thinking.

"Really? I thought this was going to be difficult." Alice said, "Bella, its her first actual birthday. No. But she has already grown so much, she has a limited amount of birthdays until she stops growing." Alice did an imitation of her pictured argument between us. I realized that my initial opposition to the party threw off Alice's visions.

Edward emerged, at human speed, from around the corner. "I thought you would be opposed to it too." He looked much more chipper than earlier.

"I think it is an brilliant idea." I replied shrugging. Edward opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly closed it. I heard little footsteps moving around Renesmee's room, and the slow, even breathing now had accelerated. Edward had appeared behind me and was rubbing my shoulders.

Rensmee's fast feet were sprinting down the hallway. She appeared around the corner and dived into Alice's lap.

"Auntie Alice!" She shrieked.

"Good morning, sweetheart." Alice replied, embracing Renesmee.

"Mommy, Daddy, I'm hungry." She stated, rubbing her eye.

I laughed. "Good morning to you too." Renesmee smiled.

"I think we should go to the main house. I'm sure when Jacob gets here he would love to hunt with you. Or we could just go right now…" Edward teased.

"No. Let's go wait for Jake." Renesmee answered back quickly.

"Good morning!" Renesmee sang as we entered the house. Rosalie was the first one to appear. She was wearing a floor length robe that blew out behind her like a cape as she flew down the stairs. Renesmee unlocked our hands, took one bound towards her, and was quickly scooped up into Rosalie's arms. Jasper came down, followed by Emmett.

"Esme and Carlisle are out hunting." Jasper explained. Edward nodded, walking over to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"Good morning." He whispered, brushing his lips against my ear.

Rosalie sat on the couch next to Emmett, leaning on him while Renesmee bombared Rosalie with questions about possible activities for the day.

"Jasper, lets go for a walk." Alice stated, skipping over to Jasper and reaching for his hand. He followed her obediently. Edward began pulling me after them. I skidded to a stop and he urged me forward. I pulled back my shield. _Leave them alone. Even though Alice decides to invade ours at times, they still deserve some. _He smiled but continued to urge me forward. I stood my ground and shook my head, _Persistent…_I trailed off before snapping my shield back in place. He yanked on my arm. Wow, he was being persistent. Was there some secret hidden in Alice's words? I pulled my shield off. _Oh. Right. I forgot you could hear her thoughts for a minute._ He nodded and pulled me after him. I followed complacently to Alice and Jasper. They had stopped outside the back door. Jasper's expression went from playful to confused as we emerged from the doorway. He looked from Edward to me. I shrugged. Alice and Edward began running, pulling Jasper and me with them. Once we were a few miles from the house, Edward and Alice stopped our run.

"Okay, so lets plan." Alice said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Edward sat across from her, Jasper on the left of Alice and me to the left of Edward. We sat for hours planning out every detail of Renesmee's surprise birthday party. Alice had party planning down to a science and only needed to inform Rosalie and get her opinions. After what seemed like a few hours, Alice stretched her legs. Jasper was laying back on his elbows with Alice resting on his broad shoulders. I was watching Alice's blank facial expression and waiting for her to share her vision with us. Her face came back to life and a wide grin was plastered on her face.

"It will be perfect." She said, placing her hand under the side of her face. She was using Jasper as a lounge chair. I smiled. Then I noticed that I was using Edward as a pillow. He was lounging on his side, and my head was resting on the side of his stomach. "I hope she'll like it. I still don't know."

"Alice, she will. How can anyone not enjoy your parties?"

"You never did." She pointed out, sounding hurt. I blushed and looked down.

"On the outside…" I muttered.

Alice's face lifted and she sat up. "So you did enjoy yourself, sometimes?" Alice asked excitedly.

"Sometimes." I admitted. I thought of the wedding, I enjoyed that party immensely, but then I also thought of my eighteenth birthday. The dreadful night that Edward remembered the constant threat I was under by merely being around him. I enjoyed some of the parties, and some presents weren't too bad either. Our cottage certainly was my favorite.

Alice beamed at me before jumping to her feet. "Jasper, would you mind accompanying me on a hunting trip?" Alice asked sweetly, gazing at her blonde lover who began following her away. Only then did I notice how dark their eyes were. I looked at Edward's eyes. They were still molten gold from our recent hunting trip. I assumed mine were a deep amber. I continued staring at Edward's eyes, but my gaze drifter to his straight nose, down his smooth jaw line, and to his lips. Moving at the same time, Edward rolled onto his back and I crawled on top of him.

With my head tucked under his chin and my hand under the collar of his shirt, touching his smooth skin, I heard the chirping of birds and the scurrying of a squirrel up a tree. I could feel the slight rise and fall of his chest under me, taking in unnecessary oxygen. All of which sent waves of serenity over me. I tilted my head up and kissed Edward's jugular. I rolled my neck, allowing my head to fall on his shoulder where he quickly enveloped my cheek in layers of soft kisses. The hand at my waist, under my shirt, pulled me onto the ground. Edward was hovering over me, placing delicate kisses on my neck and shoulders.

After the kissing subsided and our hormones settled, a reminder popped into my mind. Renee. Renee was coming to see Renesmee, to see me. I sat up abruptly, letting my legs fall on either side of Edward's hips.

"Renee." I whispered my explanation. Edward sat up and whispered "Renesmee." Our faces were less than two inches apart. I quickly pecked him on the lips, leaving my hand to caress his cheek. He pulled me up and we ran towards the house, linked by our hands.

I could hear the sounds of the house and soon saw the grass line. I took a huge bound and leaped into the air, landing with a light thud on the ground. Edward was next to me, but I hadn't heard him land.

"You didn't jump did you?" I asked dully.

He shook his head smiling. He had ran faster than gravity could pull me to the ground.

"Congrats." I mumbled. He had a gigantic grin spreading across his face. I grimaced back at him and began stalking away. He caught up and intertwined our fingers together. I tried to force the smile down and return to my grimace, but I ended up losing that battle. I grinned back and leaned into him, not for support but just to feed my hunger. My hunger and need to be as close to him as possible. I heard Renee's voice and perked up instantly.

"Come on." Edward sighed while rolling his eyes, pulling my forward. We walked gracefully across the lawn to the back door that led to the kitchen. He opened the door and motioned me in, bowing. I curtsied mockingly and stepped through the doorway.

Rosalie was now fully dressed in a lavender, long sleeved, v-neck sweater dress. It hugged her in all the right places and caressed her curves perfectly. I wondered if I could ever pull any dress off as well as her. No, probably not. She glided over to me and hissed, "Your mom arrived about fifteen minutes ago and Esme went hunting with Alice and Jasper. Renesmee and Jacob are still out. Carlisle is up in his office researching god knows what, asking not to be disturbed! Emmett and I have been attempting to entertain her even though me and her are not exactly best of friends." I interrupted her by walking past her before she could finish her rant. "Where in all hell do you think your going?" She seethed.

I stopped walking but didn't spin around before whispering back, "To save you from any more suffering."

"Oh." I heard her defeated, softened voice from behind me. I also heard Edward's muffled laughter and the air swooshing past her hand as she smacked him on the back of the head. Then her heels began clicking after me.

"Hi Mom!" I exclaimed walking into the living room.

"Bella!" My mom shrieked, rushing to give me a hug. She was sitting in the chair and Emmett sat on the couch. Their body positioning and clearly shown the awkwardness they both felt. Emmett mouthed "Thank god." Before walking silently over to Rosalie. I giggled over Renee's shoulder during our quick embrace.

"Where is everyone else?" She asked looking past my shoulder. "Not that I don't enjoy you, or Rosalie, or Emmett."

Edward stepped out from around the corner and waved.

"Edward!" Renee said with enthusiasm. She went over and gave Edward and even briefer hug than mine. Almost as if on cue, Alice and Jasper walked into the living room with smooth complexions and smoldering gold eyes, holding hands.

"Alice!" Renee exclaimed. She practically pushed Edward out of the way to get to Alice.

"Hello, Renee." Alice laughed. The sudden impact of a full-grown woman would knock the air out of most people of Alice's petite stature, not Alice. She stood sturdy. "Did you tell her?" Alice asked looking around Renee to me. I shook my head and made a nasally sound implying no.

"More surprises?" My mom asked, flopping into a chair. She laughed exasperated and turned to me, waiting for me to tell her.

"Not a surprise for you." I explained. "Renesmee. We are having her first birthday party in three months. Would you and Phil come back down?"

"Of course!" My mom stood up from her chair in excitement. "Who's planning it?" She turned to Alice almost as soon as she asked the question. "Can I help? Over the phone, of course."

"I would love it!" Alice said, and with that they were off to the dining room. Jasper's eyes went from following Alice to me, then back to Alice, before following her into the dining room.

Edward walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. I sighed. He raised one arm and tucked my side bangs behind my ear.

"Overwhelming?" He whispered. Again with this whispering; there was no point. Almost everybody in the house would be able to hear us.

I nodded and leaned my head into his chest, smelling his sweet, sugary scent. He laughed and shook his head slowly. I pulled away,

"What is so amusing?" I asked, smiling.

He pulled me into the dining room. Alice, Renee, and Jasper were sitting around the table. Jasper was leaning back in his chair, while Alice and Renee were focusing on a huge piece of poster board. On it was color swatches of pastel colors, typed lists, and what looked like sketches of rooms.

I couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Alice glared in my direction.

"What is so amusing?" She repeated my previous questions, but our voices couldn't have been more different. Her melodic voice had a sour edge to it.

"It's a birthday party. Grab a cake, throw some streamers around, and buy some presents."

Alice didn't react, instead she went back to throwing her energy into her decoration scheme.

Abrutply, Alice folded up the poster board, which I now noticed was an oversized manila envelope, and whisked it up stairs. Less than two seconds later Renesmee and Jacob's footsteps were heard coming from the woods. Alice reappeared downstairs. We all drifted into the living room. Edward and I sat down on the piano bench, Renee sat on one end of the couch while Alice leaned on Jasper on the opposite side.

I heard the back door open and close, then, like a bullet, Renesmee had her arms wrapped around my legs.

"Hey Bells."

"Hi, Jacob."

"Edward." Jacob nodded. "I was wondering if Nessie and I could go visit my dad later today. Do you think we could borrow your car?"

"I don't see why not." He said shrugging looking towards me. He almost looked like he wanted me to argue.

"Only after Renee leaves." I said.

"Right." Jacob agreed as Renesmee ran over to Renee's arms.

"Well, how has your day been so far?" Renee asked harmlessly.

Renesmee looked at Edward.

"No." He said so quietly that I was sure that Renee didn't hear. She was still staring at Renesmee waiting for an answer.

"Good. I went for a walk with Jacob. A bird landed right on his arm!"

"Wow. That's very interesting. How did he get the bird to land there?" Renee asked.

"He just whistled and it came!" Renesmee exclaimed. Edward's eyes tensed.

"Oh." My mom said questioningly, cocking her head to one side.

I pulled Edward up from the piano, up the stairs, down the hall, and into his old room.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "What happened?"

"She understands." He answered.

"Explain…" I asked

"She understands." He repeated. Clearly he didn't understand that when I said explain that repeating what he had said wouldn't help. I opened my mouth to speak, but he began again.

"She understands what we are. But what she doesn't understand is why Jacob hangs out with Nessie and us. She has noticed that we are cold and that Nessie is warm. She didn't understand why Nessie looks like us but is so different, now she understands. She was upset for a fraction of a second but she quickly realized that it must be what you wanted."

"Oh. She understands." I said accentuating the 'understands'. I didn't quite know what he had meant by first, but I knew he would have difficulty saying 'oh, she understands that we are vampires, and that we drink blood.'

"Does she care?" I asked quietly. He looked up into my eyes,

"No." He whispered incredulously.

"Edward?! Bella?!" My mom's frantic voice came from downstairs.

"No." Renesmee instructed Renee.

"Edward?! Bella?!" Renee called again, but louder more frenzied. She choked on my name and then whimpered.

Edward's eyes shot straight into mine, his eyes were hard as metal and his body went rigid. Neither of us inhaled, the only sound was of Renee's whimpering, and the three heartbeats from downstairs.

**There are around a hundred hits for this and not one review! I am begging. Please just tell me what you think. Good, bad, I don't care. I just want to know what you think. So please, please, please review!!**


	4. Foreigner

Chapter 4

In less than a second we were down stairs. I saw Renee standing over the couch with her arms outstretched, almost as if she was trying to help in some way. Renesmee's little body was pushed up against Renee trying to keep her away from the couch. I swiftly ran past them and around, allowing me to see the front of the silhouette frozen on the couch. On it was Alice, a frozen distracted look on her face. It looked as if she was a wax sculpture, her pale skin almost glowing in the dim lighting of the room and her face completely drained of emotion.

I took one glance at Alice and knew she was having a vision. A smile spread across my face and I snorted out a laugh.

"This is not funny, Bella!" My mom hissed at me. "Something is wrong."

I shook my head while picking up Renesmee, "No, Mom. It's fine. Alice is fine."

"She c-clearly is not!" Renee stuttered out before Alice's eyes became animated again. Her pixie face almost lit up. I looked at Edward for a translation. His expression was a mixture of happiness and confusion, confusion on which emotion he should portray.

"Oh, I'm fine Renee." Alice said her face lighting up. "But I really do need to find Jasper." She glanced from face to face before exiting swiftly.

Renee blinked sporadically before flopping onto the couch. She stared into space while saying, "There is something funny going on around here." I pinched my thigh. I knew my sturdy, granite legs would hold up better to the abuse than Renesmee. She was resilient but not quite as tough as me.

Edward wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him. We both sat down in unison on the couch across from Renee.

"Edward reacts to things that haven't been said yet, Alice seems to know what I'm going to do, and Renesmee grows at some insane rate while her mind is already developed." Renee threw her hands up in frustration and let them drop back to her sides. I waited patiently for her to finish her rant. As soon as I was about to speak she opened her mouth again.

She looked like tears were going to start forming. _No, no. Oh god no_.

"And look at you." She choked out as she tried to keep her voice from cracking. "You look so different, and sound so different. You don't fall and you're not clumsy. I just don't understand." For the first time she turned to look at me. She dragged in one breath and let it out, consoling herself. "It's like you all are living in a different world, a different country. And I am a foreigner. You're all speaking a different language that I barely understand. You all belong and I don't!" That is when the tear plunged off the edge of her eye. It dragged with it the little amount of makeup from her eye, leaving behind a faintly browner trail down her cheek from the eyeliner.

I wanted to console my mother but I couldn't, I didn't know what to say. I couldn't lie to her. I wished that I could just say 'Oh Mom its not like that. You belong with us as much as Alice does.' I wish I could say that, but she didn't belong. She was a foreigner to the vampire world. She knew so little about everything we could do.

That's when it clicked. She isn't allowed to know we are vampires, but she can know what we can do. I smiled and urged Renesmee towards Renee. She looked up at me confused.

"Show her." I whispered just loudly enough for Renee to hear. Renesmee hopped off the couch and walked silently over to Renee. She delicately placed her small hand on Renee's cheek. Renee didn't pull back, nor was she afraid. Her jaw went slack and her eyes got big. Then suddenly Renesmee pulled back. Edward had a fearful expression on his calm face.

"What did she show you?" I asked.

"You, Renesmee, and Edward were under an invisible dome. There was another person there, a girl, and she was trying to shock you. She was sending electric currents towards you, but they didn't reach you." Renee sounded as if she was in a trance.

I spoke very slowly, "Mom. You have just seen Renesmee's power. What you saw in her memory was my power. I have an extendable mind shield." I waited to let this sink in. Finally she spoke, breaking from her trance,

"Were you always able to do that?" She asked confused.

"No, not until recently." I laughed.

She paused, "Does anyone else have powers?" She asked amused. "Oh…can-"

"Yes." Edward said smiling.

"But I didn't-" Renee protested.

"I know." Edward laughed.

Renee's eyes darted from my face, to Renesmee's, to Edwards. It seemed like she was finally seeing the connection.

"Can-" Renee began to ask, but she couldn't finish her question. Edward cut her off.

"Yes."

"It gets a little annoying." I explained jokingly hugging myself to Edward.

The time after that was much easier around Renee. She understood that we were different, or "special" as she liked to say. Whenever something strange happened she seemed to come to accept it. It was great to have her here when I could act so freely. It was a sad moment for all of us when she left. On her last evening Esme and Alice planned a big dinner.

We invited the Clearwater's, Billy, Charlie, Sam, Emily, and the whole pack. Many of the guests seemed uncomfortable, as expected, and that proved Alice's decision to have the party outdoors a success. Everyone, well almost everyone, enjoyed the food while some played with Renesmee. Even Leah seemed to be beginning to like Renesmee, but not so much for us.

There were many tears shed by Renee during Goodbye's. I had my gasping, tearless sobs to control during her departure. She promised she would be back in three months for Renesmee's party once Renesmee was asleep in Jacob's arms. I nodded and hugged her.

"I love you, Bella." My mom said, her chin tucked over my shoulder.

One tearless sob ripped through my chest and I gasped for unnecessary air.

"I love you always and forever." I answered her back.

"I know." She said, "I'll be here for you always and forever." She didn't know the reality with what I spoke. I would love her always and forever, but she would not be here always and forever.

**Sorry, this is a short chapter. Sorry it took so long to write it. I've been super busy with school and sports and stuff. I already have started writing the fifth chapter so hopefully it won't take too long to get it out. Review please!**


	5. Preparations

Chapter 5. Preparations.

"Renesmee is waking up." Edward said slightly groggily. I giggled but didn't lift my head. The light was filtering through the big windows leading to our garden, announcing the big day. "I'm failing to see the amusing part of this." He said, a hint of laughter in his voice. I only giggled as a reply. He smiled and chuckled, lifting himself up onto his elbows. "Well, I suggest that we get dressed." He said smiling down on my face. I pouted but then rolled over. He rolled on top of me, one hand caressing my lower back, and kissed my forehead. Then swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked into the closet. I sighed and followed. Edward was wearing a pair of navy pants, rearranging the shirts in his drawer. I came up behind him and trailed my fingers across his back. He reached one arm back and around, wrapping it around my waist. I was quickly in front of him.

"Let me help." I suggested. I pulled out a gray Lacoste sweater and handed it to him. I remembered the sweater from one of my shopping excursions with Alice. He put it on without a complaint before whisking me over to my side of our massive closet.

"My turn." He kept his arm wrapped around me while moving back and forth between racks and drawers. Once he stopped, there was a pair of brown skinny corduroys, an ice blue wrap sweater, and a brown belt. I slipped on the clothes and buckled the belt at my waist. I pirouetted in front of the mirror then faced Edward. His eyes traveled over my body while handing me a pair of ice blue UGG moccasins.

I cocked my head to the side. I didn't remember buying these.

"Alice." Edward said explaining. I mouthed "Oh." while slipping them onto my feet.

We entered the hallway seconds before Renesmee did. She was wearing a light pink, long sleeved dress with knee high crocheted boots. They had light pink roses embroidered onto them.

"You look adorable, sweetheart." I said, scooping Renesmee up into my arms.

"Are you ready for the day with Jacob?" Edward asked, kissing her on the cheek. She nodded eagerly, smiling. She struggled to get out of my arms.

"I'll race you." She said facing me. I knew this game. Edward and her were a tag team, it was not fair in any way shape or form. She reached out for Edward's hand. He took it subconsciously, enveloping her tiny hand in his. "I bet we can beat you, Mommy." Renesmee said eagerly, almost jumping in place.

"Yeah. I bet we can beat you, Bella." Edward snickered, smiling. I faked a 'hurt face' and crossed my arms across my chest. Edward leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. Renesmee lightly touched my arm.

"Don't take it personally, Mommy. When there's a game we're playing that you will be better at I'll be on your side." Renesmee said innocently. Edward mocked the same hurt expression I had before Renesmee spun around and apologized. "No offense." Edward wiped his expression off and replaced it with a smile.

Renesmee tugged on his hand signaling the beginning of the race. I took off at full speed and I still couldn't hear them behind me. I smiled and chuckled to myself. Then I felt a burst of air behind me. Edward, holding Renesmee in his arms, blew right past me. Renesmee turned her head around Edward's elbow and stuck her tongue out at me playfully. I stuck mine out at her, then they picked up their pace.

When I entered the grass lawn they were lounging around on the ground as if I had taken all day. I walked, at a human pace, over to them and sat down crosslegged next to Edward.

"Wow. You took long enough." Edward said looking down at a nonexistent watch on his wrist.

"Oh, come one. I couldn't have been that much behind you." I answered, swatting his arm.

"Okay." Renesmee sighed sarcastically.

"Think what you wish." Edward added.

"Will do." I said getting up silently, walking over to the house. They both bounded up to follow me.

Before we entered the house I could hear Jacob being rushed out the front door. We ambled around to the front of the house where we were greeted by Jacob.

"Hey, Ness!" He exclaimed. His face instantly picked up the second he saw her. "Hey Bells and Edward." He said smiling towards us once Renesmee was in his arms.

"Okay, okay. Lets go!" She exclaimed tugging at his shirt to shift is attention back towards her.

"Okay, okay. Lets go." He repeated smiling down towards her. "Bye, Bells."

"Bye, Jacob." Edward said.

"Bye, Edward."

As soon as Edwards Volvo had pulled out of sight Alice came rushing out the door. "So much to do. So much to do." She muttered to herself. She was making unintelligible noises, even for a vampire, about flowers and cakes.

"Alice? Can we do something to help you?" Edward asked chuckling. Alice turned and stared at him. A stare so evil, menacing, and intimidating it is amazing someone so small could have that much fierceness in her. She then switched to her condescending stare with her hand on her hip.

"Yes, Edward." She hissed, "There is." He looked slightly taken aback but then she started up again, her normal self. "I need you and Bella to set up the canopy outside. Jasper and Emmett are building the arbors for the roses, Esme is baking the cakes, Rosalie is making the aromas, and Carlisle is…ummm. I'm not completely sure what he is doing but I'm sure its something helpful."

Edward nodded along with Alice. "Got it. What can we do, Alice?" I asked.

"Set up the canopy in the back!" She snapped in a higher pitched voice. I could tell she was slightly overwhelmed.

Edward nodded, trying to keep the calm. "And where is it, Alice."

"Its in the y-" Alice shrieked before calming herself down. "Its in the yard."

"Okay. We'll get right on that, Alice." Edward answered slowly, pulling me around the house. While we rounded the corner I could see Alice rubbing her temples.

"Does she always get this…upset?" I asked, failing to think of a good enough adjective to describe Alice's stressful mood.

"Not generally." Edward answered nonchalantly.

"For my parties, Edward?"

He laughed. "No." He saw my confused look. "She can't see Renesmee, and inviting the werewolves to both the parties gives her a headache."

I nodded, showing I understood. He laughed and took off the plastic sheet covering the picnic table. Laying on the table was a weaved net of white, pink, and red roses with white and pink Christmas lights.

"Some canopy." I said snorting. Edward was smiling.

"It's beautiful." He murmured.

Using vampire speed putting up the canopy only took thirty minutes. It was much more complex than we had thought.

"It goes this way, Edward."

"Are you sure?" Edward asked.

"Well, it would make sense." I answered quietly, picking up the side of the flowers, very delicately, and cocking my head to the side.

Edward, who was up in the tree, suddenly agreed with me. "Yes, yes it does." He strapped that corner to one tree before leaping down. He repeated this around every corner, with me directing.

"Higher…no lower…a little bit looser…okay."

Although we accidently ripped the canopy in a few places, the overal effect was the same.

Once we accomplished our task for the most part, I leaped up into a tree and ran across to the center. I took the center of the canopy and lifted up to add a more tent like appearance to the outdoors. I then leaped down and landed on top of Edward. He caught me and rolled to the ground with a dramatic groan.

"Oh, please. As if it hurts." I said lightly, swatting him on the shoulder.

"This is true…if it was Emmett I would probably kill him though." I laughed, he probably would.

"Well, not kill…" I said leaning down into a kiss. I pressed my lips softly to his lips and began to pull away, but he wouldn't let me. He put his hand on the back of my neck and gently pulled my head back down towards him. I was still amazed at the change in roles since my transformation. He was now the needy one. I smiled against his lips.

"What's so funny?" He murmured against my neck.

"Oh…nothing." I answered playfully. He laughed into the hollow dent of my collar bone. I kissed his forehead and he brought his lips back up to mine. His hand was still caressing my back.

"Ahem." I heard a crystal clear voice from the porch. I turned to see the gleam of blonde hair and the beautiful face of Rosalie. She was turned slightly away.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She honestly sounded a little intimidated.

"Its alright, Rose." Edward said. He didn't remove his hand from under my shirt on the small of my back.

"I didn't know if you were listening…" She began, "But Alice really needs your help."

"We'll be there in a second Rosalie." Edward said, flashing her a quick smile. She nodded and caught my eye. She grinned at me quickly and disappeared into the house.

He rolled his head over on the grass lazily to look up into my eyes. He gave me a look asking "Should we go?" I nodded and packed him on the lips before nuzzling into his shoulder briefly. He inhaled deeply and let it out. His breath was still as sweet as in my dull human memories. I breathed in and couldn't stifle a giggle. "Come on, lets go." I sighed, crawling up into a kneeling position at Edward's waist.

Alice was on the phone when we got into the house. "No, Carlisle. It has to be pastel food coloring…No it won't taste different, but it needs to be pastel colored…Alright, thank you." She sighed and flipped the phone shut with a flick of her wrist.

"I can run to Seattle real quick, if you need me to." Edward offered.

"No, no its okay. That's not what I need you to do. Esme started making the frosting, but she realized we don't have pastel colored food coloring…Carlisle was already out, but he doesn't understand why we need pastel colors. I had to explain that we need the frosting to match the roses and then that lead to-"

"So you need us to make frosting?" I asked, stopping Alice from continuing her rant.

"No, no. I was wondering if you would like to help all the others with the roses' distribution?"

"Do we have a choice?" Edward asked.

"No…no, not really." Alice giggled her tinkling, wind chime laugh.

"Alright. What shall we do captain?" Edward saluted Alice.

"Oh. You won't be reporting under me. I have to arrange things inside." Alice smirked.

"No." Edward said under his breath.

"Alright." Rosalie said to Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and I, who were sitting on the grass. Edward groaned, Emmett beamed proudly at his wife, and Jasper slouched back onto the grass. "Edward and Bella, do you think you two could work on weaving the roses through the arbor?" Rosalie directed.

"Actually I think I'll go take a nap." Edward stated sarcastically.

"Funny, Edward." Rosalie sneered. She didn't enjoy Emmett, shaking with laughter, or Jasper and I suppressing our chortling.

Working under Alice was like serving under a stressed President. Toiling under Rosalie was like living under a dictator. You had no say in what happens, you could only beg and grovel in hopes of Rosalie feeling merciful. Edward's remarks during the doling out of jobs made for much graveling on my part.

I was weaving a stream of pink, white, and red roses through the last of many arbors when I felt a light tug on my hair by my ear. I reached my hand up to my ear and felt the soft, rubber like petals of a rose. Edward let his hands fall off my shoulders, down my arms, and rest at my waist. He rested his head on my shoulder.

"How did I get so lucky?" He whispered. I smiled and turned around. "I have you and Renesmee, forever, and a family that loves us. It just amazes me. My life, err existence, turned out better than I could have dreamed." I rested my head on his shoulder as he slowly started moving back and forth.

He began humming a new song, a song I had not heard before, almost as beautiful as my lullaby. "Its…its beautiful." I murmured.

"It's Renesmee's lullaby." Edward explained. "It isn't finished yet…"

"It doesn't matter. Are you giving it to her as a present?" I asked, remembering my birthday, the birthday I turned eighteen, the birthday Edward had left. I shudder ran through my body. The thought still scared me.

"Edward." A call came from inside the house, a jingling call like the sound of bells.

"Alice." We both said laughing. She sounded happier, more at ease. That was progress.

We walked into the living room and heard her prancing around the kitchen. I also heard Esme barking directions to her. "Star tip…flat tip…pink…white." Alice's footsteps danced around the kitchen subserviently.

We walked into the kitchen soon after Alice made her mistake. "No, Alice. That's not it." Esme glanced at the approaching footsteps. "Oh, Edward. Thank goodness! No offense, Alice." Esme said, smiling warmly.

"None taken. This is why I stick to clothes." Alice said, walking out of the room. "Oh, we are done with everything else. Only the cake needs finishing. I glanced towards the three tiered birthday cake on the counter. It had an off white base coat of frosting, decorated with a braided top of the layers and delicate frosting roses. All the colors matching the millions of roses I had hung up today.

I followed Alice out of the room, as Edward was swathed in Esme's baking terms and instructions. I could hear their footsteps stirring around the kitchen at full vampire speed.

Alice sat down on the couch and sighed. "You look quite nice, Bella." Alice approved of my outfit. "It looks like you actually kind of tried while picking out your outfit this morning."

"Er, thanks. But Edward picked it out." I admitted. She made a face that made me think she already knew that. "Anyway, are we really done?" I asked looking around at the house, decorated to the nines.

"We better be!" All the guests should be arriving in the next twenty minutes!"

**Honestly and truthfully I don't feel like I have any reason to finish writing this besides for my friend who reads it. I need some love!! Review please; even if it's just a "this is good" or "wow this sucks." Whatever, I don't care. I just want to know what you think. Actually, I just made up a new rule. If I don't get more than three reviews, I stop writing.**

**Take three seconds and write a review! Please! **


	6. Arrivals

**Chapter 6. Arrivals.**

Ten minutes later the first car pulled into the driveway. It was Charlie's cruiser. Then came Renee and Phil, Sue and Billy, Sam and Emily, Paul and Rachel. Following them was the pack. Alice ushered everyone outside, not allowing any one to see the cake. She quickly quieted everyone down.

"Jacob should be here any minute." Alice stated, "Edward just called him." She lied. Seconds later I heard another cars familiar tires churning up the pebble driveway. Two car doors opened and closed in the front driveway. Everyone fell silent.

"Hello?" Came Renesmee's voice from inside the house.

I saw the living room light go on and heard Renesmee open the back door. Emmett plugged in the cord and the canopy lit up, illuminating the dark celebration outside.

"Surprise!" Everyone chanted, following that there was complete silence until Phil raised his voice.

"Um. Is she okay?" All heads spun towards the voice in the crowd.

"Oh, yeah. She'll snap out of it in a second." Renee answered. Almost on cue, Alice shook her hair out and smiled.

"I'm fine. No worries." Alice beamed towards Edward and he pulled me into the house.

"It seems we may have some expected guests." He said, leading me through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into his old bedroom. It hadn't changed at all, and on his bed was his cell phone.

When he released my hand he went to the bed. I meandered over towards the wall of CD's and began flipping through them. He wrapped his arm around my waist and spoke into the phone.

"Hello, Tanya."

"Oh, hello, Edward." She said excitedly. "We were just thinking about stopping by."

"Yes, as I am aware. Alice told me. But, although I am sad to say, it would be best if you didn't come by right now. We are having Renesmee's human party right now. No need to overwhelm anybody."

"Oh, but of course. I am so sorry, Edward."

"Its fine, really."

"We will see you all next weekend then. Give my best wishes to the rest of the family."

"Thank you. I will. Good bye, Tanya."

"Good bye, Edward."

He flicked the phone shut and spun around to face me, running his hand through his think bronze hair. I curled up into his chest and gave him a tight squeeze around the waist.

"Lets go." I said quietly. He nodded and began walking out of the room. I walked next to him, his arm still wound around my waist.

**My new rule is still in place. Also, sorry this was really short but I just didn't want to lump the arriving and the party chapters into one. This probably should have been tied into the last chapter but I didn't so…oh well. Review, please!!**

***I have finished the next chapter. But I am sticking to my new rule. I need at least three different reviews to post it. If you want the next chapter, then review!***


	7. Lucky

**Chapter 7. Party.**

As we walked into the back yard, the party vaguely reminded me of my wedding night. The flowers, people, and cake all resembled that of my party. A grin spread across my face when I realized that when I was not the center of attention, I rather liked parties; as long as Edward was by my side.

"Bella!" I heard from a group of people under the floral canopy that took Edward and I so long to put up. It was a human voice, I could tell. From out of the huddle came Renee, with Phil at her side. "Honey, this party is just gorgeous." She said, lightly squeezing my arm.

"I think Renesmee is really enjoying it." Phil added, sounding slightly confused and stiff but trying to cover it. Obviously he was still amazed that I had a young daughter when he had just seen me a year ago and I was not pregnant. He had tried not to show it though.

"I hope so!" I replied. I was thinking of the way I had spent my whole day, preparing for the party.

"Alice treated us like the presidential staff today." Edward explained.

"Oh, I can only imagine. It is magnificent. At least, all your hard work paid off." Renee murmured, gazing around at the marvelous scene before us. Renesmee had finished greeting everyone and was now playing what looked like a version of hide-and-go-seek with Jacob and Embry. Rosalie was hand in hand with Emmett next to a table with a large book on it. It appeared that it had many signatures on it, a signature book. With my improved vision I could see various names and special notes. There was also a few pictures of Renesmee at various stages of her accelerated life placed on the table with the book.

Renesmee looked up, saw me and Edward, and waved before Jacob began chasing her. They were both running at human pace.

"She is so adorable." Edward said, smiling warmly after Renesmee.

"Who?" Renee asked, whipping her head around.

"Renesmee." Edward and I both said at the same time.

"I think we are going to say hi to her and then find Alice." I told Renee and Phil, intertwining my arm in Edward's. They smiled as we walked towards Renesmee and Jacob.

"Hey, guys." Embry said, strolling over to meet us.

We greeted Embry and had a brief conversation with Jacob and Renesmee before Jacob began chasing her again.

"Bella, Edward!" Alice called. I could tell he was listening to her thoughts.

"Get Renesmee and bring her over when we dim the Christmas lights." He whispered in my ear. I looked up at him. "Don't worry, love." He said bending down to kiss me on the cheek. Apparently I looked worried. "I'll be right back."

I nodded and took back possession of my arm while he meandered back towards the house.

Around five minutes later the Christmas lights began to dim. "Renesmee." I called. She was hugging my knees in seconds.

"Yes, Mommy." She asked, resting her head upright on my thigh.

"Look." I said softly, referring to the house. She gasped and reached for my hand. She began tugging me and Jacob, in opposite hands, towards the house.

Edward came out and looked at Jacob's hand. Jacob offered Renesmee's hand to Edward and Edward took it automatically. We led Renesmee to the front of the crowd facing the porch.

A chant of "Happy Birthday" came out of the house and Renesmee's smile lit up the yard. Before long Emmett emerged from the house carrying the massive cake. Rosalie was on his right, being trailed by Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme. I felt a pang of guilt for Emmett. He must detest carrying that cake, which probably smelled like a pile of dirt to him. If he was bothered by it he didn't show it. The whole family was absolutely beaming. In fact, everybody here was beaming. I hadn't realized the table in front of us, but that was where Emmett placed the cake. Renesmee's face glowed in the light from the candles that lined every level of the cake. The flames flickered across her face.

We ended the chorus with a long trailing note. You could hear the varying musical talent at the party. It ranged from Alice's high soprano to many off pitch, low male human voices. Renesmee blew out the candles in one breath. Alice was quickly at the side of the cake with a plate and serving knife. Esme began delicately plucking the candles out of the frosting. She handed them to Renesmee, allowing her to lick the frosting off the bottom.

"I thought she didn't like human food." I muttered so low it would be unintelligible to the humans in the audience and difficult for the werewolf pack to understand.

"I guess she likes sugar." Edward said, laughing.

"Just like every kid." Rosalie added, smiling. I had barely seen her move her lips.

From what I was told by Renee, Charlie, Phil, Renesmee, and all of the people from the reservation the cake was fantastic. All of us daintily moved small pieces around our plates before throwing them out inconspicuously. Renesmee was sitting happily next to Jacob on the ground, who was enjoying his second piece. The party moved on easily from one activity to the next, no real schedule so to speak.

The sun had set hours before as the first left. Sam and Emily left first, bringing Quil with them. The rest of the pack soon followed after, leaving only Paul, Rachel, Seth, and Jacob behind. The remainder of people still were out in the backyard, under a awning of sparkling roses.

Seth came up next to Edward and I, who were sitting on a porch step. I lifted my head off Edward's shoulder at his approach.

"Hey guys. The party was amazing. Renesmee seems so happy. Let me know what she thinks of all the gifts." He smiled warmly. I had totally forgotten people had brought presents.

"Oh. That was so rude of us!"

"Um…what?" Seth asked.

"Not opening the presents in front of everyone," I explained, "That was so rude."

"Oh, no. Bella it's fine, really. No one minds at all. Everyone just enjoyed that cake. Man, that was fantastic." Seth was looking at Edward now, "My compliments to the baker."

Edward shook his head, "Not me, Seth. Esme gets full credit."

"I'll have to go thank her. It was great." We both nodded and smiled. "Anyway, I'm going to be leaving. I'll try to find everyone but if I don't, tell them I said thanks."

"No problem, Seth." Edward said.

"Thanks, man. Bye." Seth answered, reaching over to pat Edward on the arm.

"Bye, Seth." I called after him.

A small yawn stretched across Renesmee's face. Although she wouldn't admit it, she was tired. Paul and Rachel had left with the excuse of getting home to Billy. Charlie had just left. "You bring Renesmee down soon." He ordered while giving me an awkward hug. I promised we would.

"Should I take Renesmee home?" Edward asked, leaning over to whisper in my ear. His lips brushed my ear. I giggled and turned around, straightening out a fold on his sweater.

"Tell her a good story." I whispered back. I could hear Renee's footsteps leading towards us through the kitchen, but placed a light kiss on Edward's waiting lips. I pulled away, but Edward followed me. I knew he had to be aware of Renee approaching us. I giggled against his zealous lips and lightly pushed him away. He only responded by pulling me closer. I turned my head to the side, still giggling, only to have him place a kiss on my cheek.

"Hi, Mom." I greeted her giggling.

"Sorry to interrupt, sweetheart." She said. I rolled my eyes sarcastically, as if to say don't worry about it. "But I think me and Phil are going to leave."

I attempted another escape from Edward's arms and this time he allowed it.

I skipped over and wrapped my mom into a tight hug. "Promise you'll call soon." I said.

"Of course. I will call you when the plane lands tomorrow. It should be at around three. We have an early flight. But we do have a stop in Portland." She explained.

I pulled back from the hug. "Alright. Well if there are any problems, layovers, or anything, I'm sure somebody would be happy to come get you."

"Thanks, Bella. Goodbye, Edward." Renee said. At this time everyone began filtering into the room. Goodbye's were spread around.

"Okay, Renesmee. Did you say bye to everyone?" Edward asked, scooping her up. She nodded sleepily and rubbed her eye.

"Bye, sweetie." Renee cooed, stroking Renesmee's face. Renesmee waved bye weakly before curling into Edward's chest.

"I think I'm leaving too." Jacob said, clasping his hands together. "I'll be back tomorrow. Renee, Phil do you want me to drive you back to the hotel? Just to be sure you don't get lost?" He asked.

"That would be great. Thank you, Jacob." Phil said smiling. "Goodbye, everyone. It was great seeing you all again."

"Yes. Alice, thank you for yet another amazing party and Esme the cake was delicious.

Once the two car's taillights turned onto the highway everyone began to disperse. Esme went into the kitchen to finish straightening up with Carlisle trailing her. Alice was beaming in absolute joy.

"Alice, you don't have post party depression." Emmett pointed out.

"That's because we still have one more." She answered, raising her eyebrows. She then skipped upstairs, pulling Jasper with her.

Rosalie crossed her arms and pouted. "Maybe next party someone will thank me." She said quietly, slouching onto the couch. I couldn't help but laugh. I tried to stifle my laughter but only had slightly more success than Emmett. He roared with laughter. I could hear Alice's bell-like giggle from upstairs, along with Jasper's snickering. From the kitchen came Esme's and Carlisle's chuckles. Rosalie glared in all different directions, deciding on who to glower at. She finally settled on Emmett whose loud guffaws were rolling off his in waves.

"Rose." He said in between fits of laughter, "All you did was order us around." He finished once his laughter subsided. He placed a hand on her thigh. She stood up abruptly and spun around, swinging her golden waterfall of hair, before stalking up the stairs.

Emmett chuckled once more before taking off after her. "Aw, come on. You know it's true." I heard Rosalie's dramatic gasp from upstairs. "You were a fantastic dictator!" Emmett pointed out. That was when I heard the door slam. Edward was smilingly gleefully to himself.

"What?" I asked, smiling as well.

"We rarely get in fights." He pointed out, still holding a sleeping Renesmee.

I gave him a look of deep thought before nodding my head. "Yeah…" I agreed walking over to him smiling. I could bring up the time he left or our arguments over me visiting Jacob, but I didn't. Instead I walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

"To the cottage?" I asked. He nodded and Renesmee mumbled something in her sleep.

We said goodnight to Esme and Carlisle before exiting out the back door. While crossing the lawn we could still hear bickering voices from upstairs and the occasional muffled giggle.

"I meant dictator in the nicest way!" Emmett pleaded.

"Oh, a nice way. That fixes everything!" Rosalie said sarcastically. Alice giggled.

"There are some amazing dictators. I mean, think about Stalin. He defeated Hitler!" Emmett pointed out.

"He also killed around eight million people." Rosalie countered. I'm pretty sure the sound I heard after that was Emmett hitting himself in the head, or them falling onto the bed.

Edward chuckled and looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled and sparkled like diamonds against a navy sheet.

"I am so lucky." He murmured, reaching for my hand.


	8. Anticipation

**Chapter 8.**

I felt the comforter over my body and Edward's hand stroking my back. I cuddled deeper into his chest and sighed.

"Good morning." He said. I looked up at his face and tilted my head to the side.

"Morning?" I asked. I looked out the windows, the sun had not risen yet.

He laughed. "It's 3:30. In past experiences my line would be 'go back to sleep', but that can't really apply anymore."

I laughed, looking up into his charcoal eyes. "Do you want to go hunt?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbow.

"Do you, love?" He asked, kissing me on my forehead.

"Hmm." I contemplated. "I think that would be nice."

He nodded and shifted his weight under me. "But what about Renesmee?" I asked, "What if she wakes up and gets scared because we aren't here."

"I can listen for her." He answered, referring to monitoring her mind. He slipped out of bed wearing only his flannel, plaid pajama pants, which I was wearing the top to. I spread myself out across my bed and kicked the blanket off of me with a feeling of freedom. I stretched my muscles and rolled my head over to look at Edward. I pouted my lips and patted the bed next to me. Edward gave a dramatic sigh and climbed back into bed. He hovered over me for a few moments, waiting for me to make the next move. I rolled my eyes and pulled him down on top of me. That was all the encouragement he needed.

I tangled my hand in his hair and hooked my other thumb into the waist band of his pants. His hands were roaming under my shirt but abruptly froze. Moments later I heard a creak from the room over.

Edward abruptly rolled off of me and threw the comforter over me. The comforter settled just as the door began opening. Edward's arm was behind my head and I was curled up onto his shoulder.

"Hi, Sweetheart." I greeted Renesmee, "Is everything okay? It three in the morning?"

She shook her head sleepily and came to sit between me and Edward. "I had a nightmare." She explained, "I was in the forest with Jacob and then he howled but I couldn't find him…then I woke up." I searched her face to see if she had any traces of fear left over. She placed her hand on my cheek and showed me her night mare.

She was in a forest, her and Jacob were hunting, and she heard him howl. She went to go find him, but he wasn't there. I could feel her fear and anxiety, her nervousness for Jacob.

Edward reached down and scooped her up. Her head took the spot mine used to occupy as she curled into his shoulder. I began tracing light circles on her back like Edward used to do to me after I had a nightmare. Edward then began humming a song. It wasn't her lullaby, it was a new song. I could feel her body relax as she drifted off into sleep. Soon her heart beat slowed, and her breathing evened out.

I smiled to Edward and lay back onto my pillow. If anybody else had interrupted Edward and me, I would have been very upset, but Renesmee's interruption made me happy. Every second I spent with her only made my life better, happier. She was a joy of my life I had never even dreamed of having.

Edward brushed his fingers across my cheekbone. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you, more." I teased. He just rolled his eyes.

Renesmee woke up and was a bouncing, ball of energy. She could not sit still. She was jumping on our bed, skipping down the hallway, and leaping over the pond outside.

"I knew we shouldn't have told her that her party was today." Edward said under his breath. I only laughed in reply. I was determined to get Alice's approval.

She had been working so hard on these parties for the past month, I wanted to do something to make her happy. Although it pained me to spend so much time agonizing over which clothes to wear, I knew it was for a good cause. I flipped through garment bags and drawers at vampire speed. Edward walked around our massive closet at human speed, watching me.

"Here, let me help." He offered scrounging through my dresser. I lightly slapped his hand,

"No. I'm going to get this." I said stubbornly, tucking my bangs behind my ear.

I finally found a dress I thought would be nice. The brown, orange, and tan patterns on the dress looked like they had been painted on. They appeared to be in a brush stroke pattern. It had spaghetti straps and, although it wouldn't be too cold for me, I found an orange sweater to go with it.

I slipped the dress on over my head and stuffed my arms through the sweater. Searching for shoes, I saw a pair of knee high, brown, suede boots. Honestly, this closet was full. It was massive, but Alice had no problem filling it with new clothes every few months.

"Good?" I asked Edward, worried about the little fashion sense I had.

"Everything looks great on you." Edward complimented, reaching for my hand.

"Okay…Lets go!" Renesmee instructed.

"Renesmee, are you sure you don't want to get something to eat?" Edward asked on our run back to the house.

Renesmee gave Edward a terribly sarcastic glance before darting ahead, running full speed. Edward and I were running at vampire speeds but taking it slow.

Reaching the large open space next to the house, I saw what Alice had been planning. There was a massive, white party tent set up on the yard. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Did you know?" I asked Edward. He nodded sheepishly.

I couldn't believe Alice would go all out. I could see Alice's petite body under the tent. She was drawing on a huge clipboard, covered with sheets of paper, lists, and phone numbers. I ran over to her.

"Really, Alice? A tent?" I asked.

"Do you like it?" She asked, beaming. "Don't you just feel so…royal under here?"

"Like a princess." I answered her. She pouted, slightly upset by my sarcastic remark before her eyes lit up. She was taking in my outfit.

"Bella…" She breathed, amazed. "Your outfit is great! Did you actually put this together?"

"Mhm." I nodded proudly, ignoring her blatant comment towards my fashion ability. She held her clipboard, poster board, party planner in one arm and extended the other. She wrapped me into a tight hug.

"I'm so proud!" She exclaimed before walking off into the house. I looked around the tent; there was a long table on the side towards the house, a step ladder on the other side, and a photo station set up on the side near the forest. She really had everything planned out perfectly. No matter how dark it was, she could turn on the lights in the house to be able to see whatever was going on the table. If Emmett lifted you up on the step ladder you would be able to reach the top of the tent. Also, the lights and camera station were facing the right way to use the forest as the backdrop.

"You do look even more beautiful than usual, if that is even possible." Edward whispered into my ear. I felt something touch right at the base of my neck, and his fingers on the back of my neck. I looked down and fingered the necklace he had just put on me. It had two charms on it, a key and a heart locket. It was made out of gold.

I hadn't taken a breath since I felt it against my neck. I didn't say anything.

Edward dropped his fingers from the back of my neck and rested his hands on my shoulders.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

I spun quickly in his arms and tackled him to the ground. I slammed my lips against his and pushed every inch of my body as close to his as possible.

Nestling my head into his shoulder, I whispered, "I love it." I could feel his smile against the skin on my neck.

"Wow." I heard Emmett's loud voice from inside the house. A moment later the voice came from right behind me. "This is great." He said. Then there was a bright flash of light and a clicking noise.

A growl rumbled low in Edward's chest as I deftly maneuvered myself off of him, while standing up, in one fluid motion.

Emmett was holding a small, silver digital camera in his enormous hands. I knew that with a flick of his fingers the camera could be a small pile of metallic dust.

"Awww. Emmett, did Alice buy you a present?" I said in a baby voice.

"Yes." He mimicked back, sneering at me.

"No she didn't." Edward said, "It was Renesmee's present from Esme."

_The benefits of having a mind reader as a husband._ I thought, removing my shield. I saw Edward smile.

"Emmett, I suggest you leave before I bring up some of the rendezvous I have seen in your mind between you and Rose." Edward suggested. He generally didn't use his mind reading as a threat, even though it was.

Emmett's face was priceless. He gasped once before darting back into the house. Edward chuckled and pulled me towards the house.

Alice was sitting in the living room. I could hear Esme in the kitchen. I walked over to the couch and sat next to Alice, careful not to jostle her in the least. She was sketching out a picture.

"Alice, why is Esme in the kitchen?" I asked her. Edward sat at my feet, leaning on my knees.

"She's making a cake." Alice answered matter-of-factly, drawing with light strokes on the page.

"A cake? But none of us-" I was cut off by Edward.

"Alice says that Jacob and Seth are coming. Also that it is a birthday party, there will be cake. Whether the guests eat or not." He smiled up at me. It was just like Alice to have a monstrosity of a cake for a party of people who won't eat it. I giggled.

Alice's body stiffened for a few moments and then relaxed. "Esme, don't use that sugar." Alice called to Esme in the kitchen.

"Alice, at Renesmee's party. Well, other party…what did you see when she first came in?"

"Oh, I saw Renee and Phil getting lost." She explained. "I asked Jacob to show them the way back to the hotel." I nodded slowly, I was glad she did that. I would have felt terrible if they got lost.

"Alice, do you want us to do something?" Edward asked.

"No, I still haven't decided on a color scheme yet." She said nonchalantly. I was shocked. The party would be starting in less than twenty four hours. This wasn't like Alice at all. "I liked the flower theme, but no other flowers are as pretty as roses…" She trailed off.

"Daisies, tulips, lilacs, sunflowers, lilies…" I began listing flowers. Abruptly Alice sat up and turned her head to face me.

"Lilies." She murmured.

"They aren't in season, Alice." Edward pointed out.

"Yes, they are." Alice said.

"No, Alice, they aren't." I backed Edward up. A slow smile crept across Alice's face.

"I didn't say they had to be in season here." She stated, smiling at Edward. Edward groaned.

**Please review! This chapter isn't interesting, I know. I really just needed a filler chapter. I couldn't just jump from party to party. Well, I could, but I didn't want to. I'm writing another one right now so it will be up soon. Please, Review!!**

***To the anonymous reviewer Ben: Thank you so so so much for your reviews. They made me feel great and actually inspired me to continue writing into this next chapter. Also, I don't know exactly how I can email you. If you want to give me your email address I could. Or, if you want, you can join on fanfiction. You don't have to publish anything, you can just read. That way you can get email alerts whenever Roaming the Horizon, or any other stories you like, get updated. Thank you so much to all the other reviewers as well. Especially BellaandI1andthesame and Dakka, your multiple reviews make me so happy.**


	9. Water Lilies

**I have finally caught on to the whole 'disclaimer' thing. I will just make mine short: I am not Stephenie Meyer (however much I may wish I was), and therefore I do not own anything twilight (however much I may wish I did).**

**Chapter 9.**

Even with vampire speeds, it took Edward and I nine hours to complete Alice's task.

"I want white water lilies, and light blue ones if you can find them." She had instructed us.

"Alice, water lilies don't come in blue." Edward argued.

"If they are in blue water they do, the roots absorb the blue water and make the petals blue." She corrected.

Alice wanted white and blue flowers, and we got white and blue flowers. Edward had been against the idea, saying that her desires were absurd.

"She has done so much for us though." I pointed out, and, as usual, I got what I wanted from Edward. In this occasion it also happened to be what Alice 'needed' too.

"We're back." I chanted into the house. Alice came running up to us as soon as we stepped foot on the porch. She ushered us through the house and out towards the tent. We each had a full aquarium filled with water lilies. I carried the blue and Edward carried the white.

As soon as I saw the tent my jaw dropped. It wasn't a plain party tent anymore, not at all. The poles were now columns, and there were walls on the tent. It was now on a raised platform and had a small porch on the outside, holding the large opening which lead into the tent. The walls surrounding the tent were of very light gray stone, with windows and opening placed every so often. It looked like the walls of a courtyard.

I had to do everything within my power to keep the lilies in my hands.

"This was why you blocked your mind out." Edward muttered under his breath, his eyes wide and unblinking. Alice nodded eagerly and walked across the porch and into the tent. We followed, only to stop again once inside. If possible, the inside was more beautiful than the outside.

Along every seam of the tent and every corner there was soft lighting. It lined the whole tent. At the end across from the entry way there was a rock formation, a fountain of sorts, with a waterfall that pooled into a pond at its base. It extended halfway around the tent. Similar to the courtyard wall rock, there were grey, flat stones enclosing the pond.

In the middle of the tent there was a stand. The stand looked like something to hold up a piece of artwork. On the top, flat part there was a ring of water. It framed the large, round, flat surface.

"Alice." I breathed. I had a mix of emotions. I was grateful, grateful that Renesmee had a great aunt to plan out such amazing parties. I was ashamed, ashamed at how much work she must have put into this. Lastly, I was embarrassed, embarrassed that I had thought that I had gotten the most difficult job today.

Alice seemed confused by my silence. "Do you…do you like it?" She asked tentatively. She seemed afraid I would say no. How could anybody not like this? It was beautiful!

I laughed nervously. "Yes!" I exclaimed, placing the flower aquarium on the ground and rushing over to capture Alice. I dashed over to Alice and squeezed her in an embrace. "It is a dream, Alice. I couldn't picture anything more beautiful." I laughed to myself because I could picture something more beautiful, and he was standing awkwardly in the corner. I untangled myself from hugging Alice and glanced at Edward. He was still standing just inside the entryway, holding his lilies. I giggled.

"Alice," Edward said. She spun around and looked at Edward, raising her eyebrows. "What should we do with all these flowers?" Alice chuckled and glided over to Edward's side.

"Well, I would like to use half of each of your stashes. Put all but the two smallest of each in the pond. Place the small ones on the cake stand." She directed.

That's what the stand was, a cake stand. It was a very fancy cake stand. The intricate carving on the base and stand matched all the columns and walls outside.

"Sounds easy enough." Edward said nonchalantly, setting his tub of lilies on the ground.

Twenty minutes later, Edward and I had placed the water lilies where Alice had dictated. I watered the leftover lilies in the tub. "It would be a shame for all these lilies to go to waste." I murmured, lightly stroking a petal on a white water lily.

"Oh, they won't." Alice stated, prancing towards me. She was holding, what looked like, a thick set of green ropes. She took two, handed one to me and one to Edward. There were little clips on it. I tilted my head to the side.

"What do I do?" I asked.

Alice demonstrated. She took a white lily and clipped it in at the base of the flower, a little ways down the stem. Next she took a blue flower and repeated the steps with a blue then a white. "You attach them, alternating blue and white." She explained.

"Alright, then what do we do?" I questioned.

"Finish these and I'll be back." She answered skipping towards the doorway.

"It won't take long." Edward said, "What do we do with them afterwards?"

"You must be delicate, work slowly." She called, exiting the tent.

Of course, Alice was right. At first, I ripped many flowers. After about five I began to get the hang of it. The strands were as long as the tent, maybe even longer, and there were ten of them. It took Edward and I about forty five minutes to complete this task.

"Alice." Edward called.

"Are you done?" She asked, bounding into the tent. We both nodded.

"Right on time," She said, "I will show you where to hang them up now."

Edward sighed exasperatedly, "Alice, what exactly are you going to do?" He asked.

"Oh. I'm going to help you." She said innocently.

We carried four of the strands outside.

"Edward," Alice said turning to face him. "Can you toss me onto the tent?" She asked.

"Excuse me?" He said, his face twisting into confusion.

"I can't jump by myself because I may get the lily strand caught on the tent."

"Oh…sure." He scooped her up and lightly tossed her onto the tent. She was holding onto one of the ends of a strand and as she flew through the air it followed her. She climbed to the top and reached into her pocket, pulling out a roll of masking tape. She ripped one piece off and taped the end of the flower rope down. She then lithely scrambled to the next side of the tent.

"May I have the next one." She requested. I nodded and placidly threw her the end to another one. We repeated this on all four sides before Alice leaped down.

"I might need Emmett for this one…" Alice mumbled trailing off, "Actually Edward if you balance Bella on your shoulders it would work." Alice turned to me. "Bella, would you mind standing on Edward's shoulders to finish the outside?"

"No. That would be fine. I trust him not to do anything stupid." I said, flashing a quick smile in his direction.

Next thing I know, I'm standing on Edward's shoulders with Alice directing us.

"Attach that side to the strand on your right, and then attach it to the other strand so that it drops down but holds them together." She ordered.

Once I had linked all of the strands together, there was a crown of lilies on the tent.

"Beautiful." Alice remarked, and then flounced off towards the house. I fell down off Edward's shoulders into his waiting arms. He kissed me on the forehead.

"Great job." He said smiling down to me.

"We make a good team." I replied, reaching my arm up to bring his head down. Our lips met and tingles ran down my spine. Edward laughed against my lips just as a gust of wind blew towards us.

Unfortunately my dress was facing the way the wind came and I ended up in a Marilyn Munro like pose, attempting to keep my skirt down. Edward began a fit of laughter while watching me struggle to keep my dress down. I swatted him.

"Put me down." I ordered. Edward shook his head and held me tighter.

"Edward Masen Cullen! Set me down this instant!" I shrieked, trying to keep myself from laughing. Edward shook his head again and began spinning me around. He stopped so that my dress was now facing away from the gust of wind, and my hair was now swirling around my head. I began laughing and forced myself to sit up, wrapping my legs above Edward's waist and locking my arms around his neck.

"You are terrible." I murmured, smiling. He closed the gap between our faces and kissed me passionately, our tongues moving in synchronization.

As Edward walked into the house, with me still attached to him, Emmett began eyeing him. He was sitting by the window, facing the tent, which would have given him a perfect view of the previous scene. Rosalie was sitting next to him, a guilty smile plastered on her face.

"Nice, Bella. Way to go, Edward." Emmett commented, as I swung off Edward's hip. Rosalie fought with her giggles but allowed a small one to escape through her lips. I glared at Emmett.

"Don't worry, Bella. That has happened to all of us." Rosalie said, excusing herself from the table. I smiled cordially to Rose and then continued to glare at Emmett.

He raised his hands in a way that said 'I'm innocent.' and strolled over to follow Rose upstairs. I smiled and shook my head.

"Alice," Edward chanted. Moments later Alice danced into the dining room.

"We finished, Alice." I told her, smiling proudly.

She laughed, "Oh, no you didn't." She said sneakily, skipping out the door and heading towards the party spot. We followed, confused. Well, I was confused. Edward merely sighed and hunched his shoulders. I stepped through the entry way and Alice was right in front of me.

"Whoa." I said stepping back, her face was just inches from mine. She laughed and began instructing us on our next task. "These will act as streamers," She explained, referring to the lily strands. "One end will attach to one side of the tent, and the other end to the other side. Simple enough?" Alice asked.

Edward nodded drearily. "Alice?" I asked, she turned her head towards me. "Emmett and Rosalie are going to help. I'm going to get them." I said.

Alice smiled evily and nodded. "Okay." Was all she said, and with that I was already crossing the yard.

"Alice…" I heard Edward say.

I walked nimbly up the stairs and down the hall to Emmett and Rosalie's room. I opened the door, "Em, Rose. We need your-" I cut myself off as I quickly took in the sight before me. I turned away, "Er…nevermind." I mumbled quickly, shutting the door behind me. I shuddered while walking down the hallway, trying to shake out the image from my mind. The image of Emmett and Rosalie intertwined on their bed.

I stalked into the tent. "Alice…" I said, a low growl resonating in my chest. She laughed nervously,

"Yes, Bella."

"Do you have ANY idea what I just walked in on?!" I shrieked.

She laughed again, "Yes, yes I do."

I made an aggravated noise and pushed the thought from my mind.

"It couldn't have been that bad…" Alice said.

I stretched my shield out past Edward and replayed the scene before me, beginning from my walking up the stairs. Once I finished I snapped my shield back into place. Edward shuddered.

"Trust me, it was." He said.

"But we really need their help." I cried, my voice raising up an octave.

"Well, then go get them!" Alice exclaimed.

"Funny, Alice." I sneered, "It's bad enough walking in on them once." I sighed.

"Well, we will just have to make sure they are clothed." Edward said, leading me back towards the house.

This time, as I went up the stairs, I stamped loudly, exaggerating the point that I was coming upstairs. Edward followed after me, stifling low chuckles.

"Are we all clear?" I whispered to Edward, even though there was no point in doing so. Everyone in the house would hear what I had said. He nodded, smiling and I knocked cautiously on the door.

"Yes?" Emmett asked innocently.

"Um, can you guys put some clothes on? We need you to come help us." I mumbled.

Suddenly the door opened and their stood a fully clothed Rosalie and a half clothed Emmett. He was missing a shirt.

"Can you please put a shirt on." Edward pleaded.

"What, does my half nakedness bother you, Edward?" Emmett asked flexing his muscles. Rosalie laughed.

"No, but you just look kind of stupid wandering around in public without a shirt on." Rose explained, shutting the door in his face.

As we walked down the stairs, Rosalie called over her shoulder, "Come outside when you find a shirt."

Emmett arrived and we quickly briefed him on the task at hand. Obviously, our directions weren't simple enough.

"Hey, Emmett." Alice said, greeting him before he walked into the tent.

"Alice." Emmett said back. "What do I get to do?" He asked with fake excitement.

"Basically, you are going to pick Rose up and she is going to attach a side of this," Alice pointed to a lily strand, "to a side of the tent. Then she is going to attach the other side to the other side of the tent. So that it kind of looks like streamers." Alice explained.

"Okay." Emmett nodded, "So what do I do again?"

"You pick Rose up." Alice explained, her peppiness going down by Emmett not understanding her simple directions.

"Got it." Emmett said, "And what does she do?"

"She attaches the lily strands." Alice muttered.

"Right…so why does she need me to pick her up?" Emmett asked.

"It doesn't matter! Just do it!" Alice snapped, stomping out of the tent.

**Hello Everyone! I am a few paragraphs into the next chapter for those who may be wondering. With school and such it hopefully will be out by the middle of the week max. Thank you to all of you who review, especially those who have sent multiple reviews. REMEMBER: if you do not have an account on fanfiction I cannot contact you when a new chapter is put up. (See endnotes on chapter 8…hehe I feel so business like saying that.) Anyways! I do have the whole story planned out and things should start flowing faster. It will get much more interesting too! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now go review!**

**P.S. My new rule still applies. I havent gotten any reviews on this chapter yet! That is upsetting! Haha just kidding. I love all of you guys who review, and those who dont...boo you. Review next time. That's all. Please read and review, its only fair. Reviews are love!! Please and Thank you!**

**P.P.S I have a poll on my profile, vote please! Or, if you want to become involved with the story, just send me a PM or review. I do need some help making a decision. Until someone helps me make a decision, I cant put out anymore chapters. I really want to though, so please help me!**


	10. Priceless

**Blah, blah disclaimer, blah, blah. I am not Stephenie Meyer****, I do not own Twilight****…it's a sore subject. I'd rather not talk about it.**

**On a brighter note! I am posting this because (drum roll) I finished it and got three reviews within 24 hours of posting my last update! I'm hoping my lucky streak will continue. Review!**

**Chapter 10. Priceless.**

"Meow!" Emmett hissed, clawing the air with his hand. Rosalie laughed and dexterously climbed up to his shoulders. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and slung me up onto his. He handed me an end of the lily strand and a piece of clear tap. He glided over to the edge of the tent and I secured the strand to the tent. I repeated this on the other side, and then with the other two strands. Rosalie taped up two strands, as Emmett continued to distract her. This task took us ten minutes, which, in vampire time, was a very long time.

Rosalie was still on Emmett's shoulders, covering his eyes. Emmett was wandering around blindly, with Rose on his shoulders. I dropped off of Edward's shoulders and landed on my feet. I reached for Edward's hand and leaned up to kiss him. As soon as our lips met, I was so happy and complete. Only two people I knew could make me this happy, Edward and Renesmee. That was when I realized it.

"Edward." I said against his eager lips. He murmured,

"Mhm?" Back to me.

"Where is Renesmee?" He searched for the voices that he heard in his head, but couldn't find hers. His face was shocked and scared. He grabbed my hand and we both sprinted to the house.

"Alice. Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice." I called, as we made our way across the lawn. She popped her head out the door.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Renesmee." Edward said.

"Where is she?" I asked Alice.

"She is with Jacob, at Charlie's." Edward answered before giving Alice a dirty look. "You should have told us."Edward reprimanded Alice. "No. It's okay, just don't do it again." He said, answering her unspoken apology. She nodded.

"You can even take my car to go get them. I dropped them off when you were getting the lilies…actually now would be a good time to go get them." Alice supplied.

Pulling away from the curb Renesmee began blabbering.

"Mommy," She said.

"Yes, sweetheart." I answered, turning my head behind the passenger side seat.

"My party was really pretty last time. Is it going to be as pretty this time? Is everyone already there? What does it look like? Jacob told me not to talk about it in front of Grandpa, so I didn't, but now I have some questions. Is grandpa going? Or is that why I could talk about it, he wasn't invited? Why wouldn't you invite him? I thought we liked him. I thought we liked everybody…besides those creepy people in the black robes. I don't like them. They aren't coming, right? They would make the party really not pretty, is my party pretty? What does it look like?" She asked.

I was able to follow her fast train of thought, but Jacob was staring at her like she had five heads. I squeezed Edward's arm and pulled my shield off. _She is so talkative_. I laughed in my mind. _Look at Jacob's face. Priceless._ Edward took his eyes away from the windshield and looked at Jacob's face. Edward smiled and chuckled before whispering so low and fast there was no way Jacob could hear. "Let's train her to talk fast from now on." I giggled.

"Yes, your party is amazing. No, everybody is not already there. No, Grandma and Grandpa aren't invited to this one. Yes, we do like them. No, we don't like the Volturi." I could see Edward cringe slightly when I said their name. "Yes, there are other vampires coming. Finally, no, I will not tell you what your party looks like." I smiled at Renesmee. She crossed her arms playfully and pouted. She huffed, blowing air up past her nose, causing a stray strand of hair to blow up. I chuckled once under my breath and looked over towards Jacob. He was still in shock from the quick exchange between us. He understood he was the only one in the car who didn't understand.

He caught me staring at him with a gloating smile on my face. He shook his hair out and plastered a smile on his face. "With Alice planning it, it must be beautiful." He added, attempting to join the ended conversation. Renesmee looked at him, smiled and then continued glaring out the window.

I was glad we didn't take Alice's car. We didn't need to draw any more attention to ourselves. We got enough attention wherever we went, and stopping at the gas station was no different. Edward and I got out of the car, shutting the doors behind us.

"I think Renesmee's hungry. I would feel better if she ate something. I don't want her to be sick." He said, reaching out for the gas nozzle. I nodded and reached into his pocket, searching for some money. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a crisp twenty between his fingers. I huffed and my hand retreated out of his pants pocket.

I came out of the store and saw everyone waiting in the car.

"Honestly, even as a vamp you still take forever to get anything done." Jacob said, reaching for a bag of chips. I swatted his hand, probably dislocating one of his fingers.

"Better set that fast, Jake, wouldn't want it to heal crooked." I snapped. He put his hands up in a defensive position and I handed Renesmee the bag of chips and the packet of gummies. She took them, but had a sickened look on her face. "Honey, I know it doesn't taste great, but we are just worried. You haven't had anything the whole day."

She raised one side of her mouth into a disgusted expression. "It would make us feel better." I said referring to Edward and me.

"Okay." She said, making it sound like there were four syllables instead of two.

She opened the bag of gummies and popped one in her mouth delicately. A smile spread slowly across her face. "These aren't that bad." She said. I grinned at Edward. He grinned back. We knew Emmett and Jasper had a bet going on, whether she would like sugary food or salty human food better. Jasper would win, again.

Back at the house, Alice was rushing back and forth between the tent and the house. Renesmee gasped as she caught sight of the garden, castle like structure in the backyard.

As soon as the car stopped, she rushed out and over to the tent. She ran around once before going through the entrance. By the time she exited, Edward, Jacob, and I were all walking across the grass.

She ran out the door and over to us. "It's amazing!" She exclaimed, quickly darting off to find Alice.

I heard her call for Alice as soon as she was in the house. "Auntie Alice! It's like a castle! I have a castle!" She shrieked. Jacob jogged off towards the house and scooped Renesmee up on her way out. She giggled and jostled around in his arms. Then Alice appeared from the side of the house.

"She loves it, Alice." I told her. "You should have heard her in the car." Alice laughed and shook her head.

"Well, it is every girl's dream to have a castle." She bragged, shrugging her petite shoulders.

Her face fell, and her eyes were blank, her face expressionless. This lasted three seconds, and as abruptly as it started, it stopped. She looked excitedly towards us.

"They should start arriving in five minutes." She whispered excitedly, dashing towards the house. I pulled Edward to follow Alice, but when we reached the back door she ushered us out.

"No, no. Esme and I will bring the cake out. You can't see it yet." She instructed. Just as she had said, Esme emerged from the kitchen. She was carrying a large, three layered, wedding like cake. It was about the same size as before. The cake was covered by a sheet of opaque plastic. "Move." Alice directed. She guided Esme into the secluded tent. As she was stepping out, Renesmee attempted to enter the tent.

"I don't think so." Alice sang, scooping Renesmee up. Alice kissed Renesmee on the nose, placed her on the ground, and sent her running off the other way.

I wondered how she timed that. She couldn't see Renesmee, how did she know exactly when Renesmee was coming in.

Edward shook his head playfully, "Her timing." He murmured. It still amazed me how similar our thoughts were.

Edward and I sat on the piano bench with Renesmee in between us. Her fingers flew up and down the keys, playing a song Edward taught her last week. She had perfected it, and was now working on adding in her own special touches. A gold escalade made the turn into the driveway going at somewhere around 85 miles per hour.

Carlisle and Esme fluttered out of the kitchen, Alice and Jasper filtered in from outside, and Emmett tugged Rosalie down the stairs. She turned and studied herself in the mirror. Her perfect complexion and beautiful caramel eyes stared back at her, she flipped her hair and smiled, happy with what she saw.

Renesmee darted over to the window and then sped past Carlisle, who was standing in the open doorway. She paused on the steps as Kate, Garrett, Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar emerged from the gold car. Renesmee was positively beaming.

We all emerged from the house, converging around Renesmee. Edward scooped her up into his arms. He settled her on his right side, and wrapped his arm around my waist, tugging me closer to him.

Tanya was leading the way. I could see a flash of disappointment when she saw Edward and Renesmee with me, reminding her of the things she didn't and couldn't have. Her smile didn't falter, but I could see it hidden behind her eyes. Maybe I was just overreacting, seeing things. I would ask Jasper later, he would know exactly what she was feeling.

Calisle and Esme stepped down, greeting each arrival separately. Tanya kept her eyes on Edward and me, until she realized that I was looking back at her. She politely averted her eyes to Esme's smiling face. Hugs were spread around and Renesmee was eager to go greet everyone. Edward placed our daughter on the ground and followed her, tugging me with him, towards the group of people.

We were accepted into the circle of hugs, even Tanya and I shared a quick embrace.

Soon Alice began herding everyone into the backyard, in the direction of the tent. The Denali Coven was dispersed within the walking mob. Once they took in the massive lily-decorated-castle-tent they all paused. Eleazar was the first to speak. "Alice…" He managed to choke out. Even to vampire eyes, the castle was beautiful. It was straight out of a fairytale. Alice had taken the left over flowers and pined them in the cracks of the stones, and vines danced freely across the walls. The porch was lined with tea candles, leading inside.

Using vampire speed, everyone rushed into the tent. We all stopped short yet again. Behind the waterfall there were sparkling lights, and floating in the pond there were tea candles.

In the middle of the room, there was the ornate pedestal. On it sat a three tiered cake, covered in a white sheet. What was with the Cullen's and surprises? I detest surprises. Why hide something from someone when they will find out eventually anyway? I guess that's kind of the way the Cullen's live their whole existence. That's how I will live my whole existence. I guess I should start spending ridiculous amounts of money. I chuckled to myself, imagining myself shopping with Alice, me spending more money than Alice.

Edward cocked his head to the side and gave me the frustrated what-are-you-thinking look. I flexed my shield around Edward, allowing him to see the vision I just had. A slow grin spread across his face while he tried to muffle his chortling.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed, "Guests!" speeding out of the tent. We all slowly dribbled out of the tent, walking at human pace, out to the front where Alice was bouncing up and down. Jasper strolled over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alice, please." He pleaded, eyeing her. They seemed to be having one of their private, silent exchanges.

Next arrived the Irish Coven, followed closely by the European Nomads. Within the next five minutes, the Egyptian Coven, the Romanians, and a few of the American Nomads arrived. There was a large meet and greet out in the front of the house. Lastly, the Amazon Coven arrived.

Zafrina had a strong liking to Renesmee, even from the first time they had met. They shared a similar power, uniting them. Renesmee remembered Zafrina, and, of course, upon her arrival she was the happiest. Her joy at that moment was contagious, it reminded me of Jasper. Seeing her this happy, being surrounded by her friends and family, was priceless.

Renesmee sped to Zafrina, who instantly scooped her up.

"Well, hello, my little friend. My how you've grown!" She exclaimed. Renesmee lifted her hand to her face, making Zafrina laugh. "You had another birthday? You got two parties? You are a very spoiled little Halfling." She joked. Renesmee smiled and giggled guiltily before hopping out of Zafrina's arms and tugging on her hand.

"Let me show you something." Renesmee begged, pulling Zafrina. The rest of the group followed.

Renesmee's castle had a similar effect on the new guests. They all paused mid stride, gaping at the massive structure designed specifically for her party.

"Come on!" Renesmee cried, sprinting into her fortress. We all followed, and, again, the room had changed slightly. There were now speakers in every upper corner of the tent. There was also a large, curving bar in the corner across from the entry way.

A bar? Why would any of us need a bar?

**Hehehe. Yay! I finished another chapter! That is three this weekend…I am on a roll! Please review. It means the world to a writer when people care enough to respond. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

_**Bitsy!**_


	11. Worry

**DISCLAIMER? Okay everybody knows what disclaimers are supposed to say, but I honestly don't understand why we put them up. Legally, yes I do understand. Otherwise, no I don't. Obviously none of us are Stephenie Meyer, therefore obviously none of us own Twilight or its characters. If any of us did or were Stephenie Meyer, we wouldn't be writing on fanfiction… We would probably be writing another book. But that is just my opinion. I mean, you never know.**

**ALSO, I have decided that I will be posting a new chapter every wednesday. That is all. Pitch forks are not neccesary. This will allow me to finish chapters before hand and get them out on a timely basis.**

**Chapter 11.**

"A bar, Alice?" I asked. There was no reply. I just saw Alice across the tent, smiling. I knew she had heard me, everyone at this party could hear me. I was fuming. Alice had gone way overboard! The beautiful, mahogany bar would be yet just another prop in Alice's party façade. I glanced around to find someone who would answer my question, I saw Jasper cringe from my anger.

"Sorry, Jazz." I whispered. I glared back towards Alice. She was still talking to Siobhan. I almost forgot that Edward was holding my hand until he gave it a tight squeeze. I turned around to face him and intertwined our other fingers. I smiled, what I hoped was a convincing smile. He chuckled and muttered,

"Bella." Clearly my annoyance was written on my face. "You could only imagine what Alice has planned…" He trailed off.

"No, I probably couldn't." I disagreed, "Alice is far more imaginative than I am." I couldn't help it. Edward was like a vacuum. Whenever I am with him he just suctions away all of my negative energy and negative thoughts. He makes me such a better person.

To my resentment, Edward released one of his hands. To my enjoyment, he cupped his hand against my cheek and stroked my cheek bone. "Don't doubt yourself, love." He whispered. I reached up to my tiptoes and lightly pressed my lips against his. To my dismay, he pulled away slightly, breaking our kiss. He only smiled and then returned his lips to mine. I reached my arm around his neck and pulled his head down towards me. I was quite content, until he smiled against my lips and started laughing again!

"Okay. Seriously, Edward." I snapped. "What the hell is so amusing to you?" Then I heard the sound of liquid sloshing around cups. "What the-" I swiveled from side to side, attempting to locate the cause of the sound. Edward put his hands on the sides of my head and turned them towards the UNNECESSARY bar.

Emmett was standing behind the bar, filling up martini glasses with a red liquid. Blood, the smell hit me as soon as I saw him. All eyes in the room turned to Emmett, suddenly Alice was leaning on the bar. "Martini, anyone?" She asked raising her eyebrows. The entire population of the tent crowded into the corner with the bar. Well, everybody except Jacob. Renesmee was tugging on his hand,

"I want one. I want one!" She pleaded. Jacob stood with a confused expression on his face, shaking his head. I saw that Edward was watching them too and began making my way over.

"I thought you couldn't drink anything besides…blood?" He asked. He probably couldn't smell it, at least not yet.

"We can't." I confirmed.

An amused smile crept onto Edward's face. "Yes." He said slowly, nodding. I assumed that Jacob understood. His face crinkled up in a disgusted expression. People, well vampires, began walking past us with ice blue martini glasses filled with a red liquid. Jacob's expression got even more disgusted.

"Just pretend its punch." Renesmee directed, shrugging. I nodded, agreeing with Renesmee.

Emmett glided over to us, holding a martini glass in one hand and two in the other. He held out the two in his hands to Edward and me. Edward reached and took them while Emmett downed his in one gulp.

"Derien!" Emmett called, slinking off towards the bar, again. Rosalie appeared on the other side of Edward as soon as Emmett left.

"There isn't actually any alcohol in them, Emmett is just acting like he's drunk." She said smiling, taking small sips of hers. I watched Emmett pretend to stumble around, but failing. Even his hulking, bear like form couldn't look inelegant.

Edward took a sip of his "martini", a low rumble forming in his chest. It must be good. I took a small sip of mine, monitoring the taste.

It was delicious, a delectable combination. I could taste the stale, dry taste of animal blood. There was also salty and sweet components in it.

"What's in these?" I asked Edward. He smiled and answered,

"Well, there's animal-"

"Bye." Jacob interrupted, scooping up Renesmee and running her over to the pond.

I giggled at Jacob's obvious discomfort. Edward chuckled and continued. "There is animal blood and some extra minerals, proteins, and sugars that can be found in human blood." I tilted my head to the side. Element of human blood? That means that there was human blood in this. I made a disgusted look, like I was going to throw up, and held the glass away from me. Edward shook his head. "There isn't any human blood. It just contains some of the minerals, proteins, and sugars to accommodate the…non-vegetarian vampires here." He explained, pausing to think of a way to put it as not to offend anybody.

I made a satisfied noise and quickly downed my glass, tipping my head back. I rolled on to my tip toes to kiss Edward on the cheek and began to break our interlaced fingers.

"Where are you going?" He asked lightly.

"To get another." I explained, holding up my empty glass. He chuckled and pulled me to the bar.

Emmett was behind the bar, manning the tap. "Another, mademoiselle?" He asked in a perfect French accent, reaching for my cup. He set it on the counter. He squirted the mixture out of the tap into a silver martini mixer, put in a spoonful of a powder, and began shaking it by hand. I was sure that at vampire speed, the powder would be dissolved quickly. Emmett smiled and poured the mixture into my glass.

"Merci." I said, my French accent off. Emmett nodded and moved on to Benjamin who was in line behind me. A line of six had formed behind me.

I turned, amazed, and looked over the party. Everyone was lively, and in a pleasant conversation with a small group around them. The only one who was straying from a group was Alice, who was bounding across the tent towards the exit. I pulled Edward to intercept Alice's path.

"Hi, Bella. Enjoying yourself?" She asked, eyeing my 'martini'. I nodded vigorously and took sip. Although it was cold, it tasted better than drinking it straight from an animal. I assumed it was because of all the extra ingredients Alice decided to add.

"You may want to speed it up though." I motioned towards the longer line. "Even with Emmett the trusty bar tender going at vampire speed there's still a line." I explained.

Alice nodded knowingly. "I was going to fix that." She explained. "See you in a second!" With that Alice bounded out of the tent.

"What is she-" I asked before being interrupted by Edward.

"I don't know." He said frustrated. "She was translating Romeo and Juliet into Indian." I didn't push Edward, I knew how it irritated him to not know what people were thinking.

I felt small hands hugging my right leg. I looked down and there was a head of bouncing, bonze curls.

"Hi, sweetheart. Is everything okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But mommy?" She questioned, I nodded to encourage her. "Can I have one?" She asked, pointing to my cup. I looked at Edward, he shrugged.

"Sure." I approved, scooping her up and putting her near Edward. I ambled over to the bar, cutting the line.

"Sorry, sorry." I apologized, "Renesmee wanted one. Can you put it in a normal cup though?" I asked. I didn't want to give her the wrong impression. Vampire or not, no parent wants their child to get the impression that drinking is okay.

"Here, darling." I said, handing Renesmee the drink. She took it out of hands greedily and put her mouth to the rim. She tipped it once, taking one sip, and sloshed it around her mouth before swallowing it.

"Yum." She said, smiling. Dipping her head to get another sip, she moved her eyes up to watch me. I smiled and took a sip of my own. She gulped down another sip, smiled at me, then dashed off to find Jacob.

"It will be interesting to see if Jacob can put his disgust for blood drinking away in order to keep Renesmee happy." Edward murmured in my ear. I could feel his lips, tickling my ear lobe. A single shiver ran through my body. I turned, placing one hand on Edward's shoulder, and pulled myself up to his face. He ducked his head to allow me to stand on two feet. Curling my hand holding my drink in towards my body, to shield it from being knocked over, I could feel Edward's arms wrapping around my back under my sweater. Our bodies were pressed together at every available spot.

"You guys are worse than me and Rose." Emmett said. I turned to see Emmett standing a little over a yard away, watching us with an amused expression on his face.

"Not quite." Edward sneered. I glared at Emmett. He seemed to be trying to get me back for interrupting his intimate moment earlier. I didn't do interrupt on purpose. Nobody would want to see that.

"Wait…if you're here, who is taking care of the bar?" I asked, rotating to look at the bar. On the bar there was now a massive ice sculpture. It looked like a volcano, spewing lava, with lava pathways swirling down the sides. All the magma converged at the bottom in a ring surrounding the mountain, and then was sucked back up to repeat the cycle. The ring around the bottom was accented by a plug. Release the plug, and the blood would funnel out, into your cup.

"Oh my…Alice." I called, never taking my eye off the ice sculpture. She was at my side in a second. "Alice, how did you get that so quickly?" I asked.

"Oh. Well, it's kind of a long story." She answered. I nodded curtly. She skipped away, heading towards Jasper. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Now, where were we?" Edward asked, leaning in towards me. I smiled and began closing the small gap between us.

"Cake time!" I heard Alice call. Edward groaned and rolled his eyes. I could hear many confused noises from the party. But, none the less, everyone still gathered around the cake stand in the center. I wasn't quite sure whether it was out of curiosity or because nobody wanted to offend Alice.

Esme was standing next to Alice, and with one swift motion the sheet was off of the cake. It was a piece of art. The cake's base coating of frosting was white, perfectly matching the delicate blue and white frosting lilies placed in groups around the cake. The flowers were hand crafted and perfect replica's of the one floating around the base of the cake in water, rimming the pedestal.

I could see everyone's wide eyes, I could hear everyone's silent gasps, and then I heard Renesmee clapping her hands excitedly.

"Thank you, thank you, Grandma Esme. It is so pretty! I don't think we should eat it." She said, attaching herself to Esme. Esme kneeled down to Renesmee's level and wrapped her in a tight hug.

"You're right." Esme said, "It's almost as beautiful as you are."

By then end of the night; the volcano was almost running dry, there was one swipe of frosting taken off the cake to reveal the chocolate underneath, and goodbye's were being spread around. As the first guests announced their departure, Alice disappeared. She emerged from the house shortly after, carrying a basket with blue and white ribbons tied around the handle. Placed on top of the pale blue tissue paper, there were many thin, silver cell phones.

Alice cleared her throat to get the attention of all the guests. "On the porch," She began in her wind chime voice, "This basket will be out on the table. There will be one with your coven's name on the are for you, in case any of us ever need to reach each other for…various reasons. Please enjoy your party favors!" Alice chirped, exiting the tent. She entered moments later, skipping over to Edward and I. We were speaking to Kate and Garrett.

"Too much?" She asked, making it sound more like an accusation of my thoughts than a question.

I nodded, "But it would be a good idea, if everyone had phones." I explained. Alice nodded a consensus and skipped off towards Jasper.

Garrett's eyes were following after Alice questioningly.

"She really likes planning parties." I explained quietly.

"I can tell." Garrett said skeptically.

The guests dwindled, the volcano ran almost dry, and the cake had not been touched. There was one little swipe someone had taken at the very bottom edge. It was between Jacob and Renesmee. I was upset. I knew I would be more upset if it was Jacob than Renesmee. The cake was Renesmee's, but it was so beautiful. It was a piece of art work. Edward could tell I was furious.

"What happened?" He asked concerned, resting his hand on my hip bone. He stood directly in front of me, tilting my chin up. We made eye contact and I could see the worry in his golden eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked again, more concern mounting up behind his words.

"Nothing, nothing. Somebody just took a finger full of Esme's cake." I explained. He grimaced playfully.

"Let's see who." He said, leading me over to the cake. I bent down and sniffed the area around the print left from the finger.

"Definitely Jacob." I said standing up stiffly. My eyes scanned the almost empty room. There he was, with Renesmee half asleep at his side. He was on the opposite side of me, over by the pond. I stalked towards him, and he looked up into the fury of my eyes. His eyes grew wide and he subconsciously backed up a step.

"Jacob." I said flatly. "Was the frosting good?" I asked with fake enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it was fanta-" He began off sounding excited, but once he realized I was angry he slowed down worriedly. I cut him off with a glare. "sorry…" He mumbled, looking down. He seemed worried I was going to hate him for taking a tiny taste of frosting. I didn't know I had gotten that bad.

"It's okay." I said quietly, looking down at my feet. I was a little ashamed. I didn't know why, but I was having tons of mood swings now.

"It's fine, Bells." Jacob said cheerfully.

"Bella, Edward." Carlisle called, "Where's Renesmee?"

"Right here." I called back.

"One second, Carlisle." Edward answered. "Come here, sweetheart." Edward said leaning down to pick up Renesmee. He cradled her in his arms, speeding towards the exit of the tent. Jacob and I followed Edward.

Edward stopped at the front porch of the house where Carlisle and the rest of the family were standing. The Denali's were also standing on the porch. Esme and Carmen were hugging while Tanya and Carlisle were having a conversation.

"You must visit soon." Carlisle said warmly, pulling Tanya in for a quick embrace. The goodbye's almost seemed to follow a pattern or system. Each person would exchange a few words and move on to the next, nobody was ever left without another.

Tanya next moved to Edward and Renesmee. "Goodbye, little one." Tanya said, kissing Renesmee on the forehead. She then stood up and looked in Edward's eyes. I could see Edward's neck muscle's tighten slightly in reaction to Tanya's thoughts. "Goodbye, Edward." Tanya said tenderly, smiling.

"Goodbye, Tanya." Edward answered, smiling politely. They could not embrace, Edward was holding Renesmee, but Tanya placed a hand on Edward's forearm.

"It has been good seeing you." She murmured before moving on to me. We shared and awkward embrace. She rested her hand on my upper arm, "You are very lucky, Bella Cullen." Tanya stated. She was smiling, but I could see her jealousy.

"Thank you. I know I am, and I am very grateful. Please stop by soon." I replied.

"Yes, anytime. Please, you are always welcome in our home." Esme declared.

"As you are in ours." Kate replied.

We all watched the gold escalade depart down the driveway. Once we heard it turn onto the highway, everyone filtered inside.

Alice slumped down onto a couch, with Jasper following. Edward, Renesmee, and I sat on a different couch, while Rosalie and Emmett wandered upstairs.

Alice's small lips were formed into a small pout in the shape of a frown. Jasper rubbed her arm. This must have been the 'post party depression' Emmett had been referring to before.

Abruptly Alice's face dropped all emotions. We all sat forward on our seats, eagerly waiting for Alice's visions. Well, Jasper and I did. Edward sat back and gazed at the half conscious Renesmee.

Alice's eyes released the haze, but her face showed little emotion. Edward's head jerked up. Alice's face held one emotion, worry.

"Oh my." She whispered under her breath.

**Ahhhh. Cliff hanger. I know I'm evil. I seem to use Alice's visions to my benefit.**

**Review, Review, Review!!**

**Thank you to those who commented and those who left names! I have already decided on a name and changed the character a little bit. I would love to thank my best friend, Izi, and to my sister, Hannah, who have helped me tremendously with my story. I would also like to thank all of you! You guys are the reasons I continue writing this story. Thank you so, so, so, so much.**

**_Bitsy!_**


	12. Unexpected Guest

**I am not putting a DISCLAIMER, it is obvious and known that I am not Stephenie Meyer. Although it is upsetting, I can work through it. Deep breaths. In…out…**

**Chapter 12.**

I whipped my head around to look at Edward. He was a slab of granite, a sculpture. He sat there with the same frozen expression on his face, an expression of shock. I wasn't going to get any information out of him…

I swiveled my head back to Alice. She had melted a little and was becoming more personable. Actually, she looked slightly excited.

"Alice…" I said slowly, almost asking a question. She gazed at me for a few moments before asking, very calmly,

"Bella, do you know anybody named Alexandria?"

I flashed through my dim human memories, receding farther back to my childhood; my mom's best friend's daughter, my childhood friend. Alli was probably my best friend that I ever had, until I met Alice. When I was thirteen, Alli and her mom moved to Buffalo, another city of dreary weather but with much more snow. Alli's named had changed so much over our time as friends; Dri-Dri when we were very little, Alex when we were around eight, and then Alli once we hit ten years old. I was always Bella. We were complete opposites, but we were the best of friends. I smiled when remembering that all my childhood photographs had Alli in them.

"Bella." Jasper stated, bringing me out of my epiphany.

"Oh, sorry." I mumbled, "Yes, my best friend…Alli." I answered. I saw Alice's face drop when I said 'best friend'. "My best friend prior to when…she…moved away when we were thirteen." I amended, watching Alice's face jump up almost instantaneously.

"Okay. Good." She answered, standing up.

"Wait…why?" I asked, getting up. I was prepared to follow Alice if it came down to that.

"No reason." Alice said slyly, rocking back on her heals. "I need to find Esme and Rosalie…Edward." Alice announced, nodding at Edward. He gave a look of understanding, and with that Alice was off. Jasper sat dazed on the couch momentarily before dashing off to find Alice.

I spun to face Edward. He opened his mouth like he was going to apologize, but I interrupted him.

"You can explain…later." I said flatly, realizing the sleeping Renesmee cradled in Edward's arms.

"To our cottage?" Edward asked, standing up. I nodded stiffly once and took off at full speed towards our house. I needed to blow off some steam, figure things out.

Obviously Alice had a vision including Alli. Why would she need to speak to Esme? Well, Esme was the mother figure of the household. She has the final say in everything. She is also the artistic and compassionate one. Esme makes sense…but Rosalie? Rosalie is never the most cordial person. In fact, she is rude most of the time. Why would Alice ever need to consort with Rosalie on a vision?

The one person who could answer all of these questions was about five yards to the right of me, running at my speed.

Renesmee curled up into her bed silently, pulling the covers up around her chin. I turned and stalked into the hallway, heading for our bedroom. I sat on the edge of the bed as Edward emerged from the hallway.

"I'm guessing you want to know about-" Edward began.

"Yes." I cut him off. He didn't take slight offence to my interruption.

"Well…your friend Alli may stop by." He stated slowly. My eyes widened, begging him to continue. "She has had some…traumas lately, and she wanted to come see you. Apparently she didn't fare to well without you either." He explained.

My face fell. Alexandria was unhappy, there were traumas in her life. I could feel a dull, throbbing pain, an emotional pain.

"What…what h-happened?" I stuttered. Edward cringed, sensing how upset I was.

"I'm not really sure…" He said sheepishly.

"Oh, really?! Because you can read everyone's minds. How can you not be sure! You're a mind reader god damn it!" I boiled over, standing up to tower over Edward. He tucked his head down, and I realized how cruel I was being. "I am…so sorry." I said, sitting down. Edward turned his head to look at me. I could see the hurt in his eyes. I brushed my hand on the side of his hair, running my fingers down his neck.

"I really didn't mean it. I-I don't know what got into me. Please, please don't be mad at me." I pleaded.

He turned his whole body towards me and smiled. "Sweet, sweet, Bella. I can never stay mad at you." He murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist.

Edward pulled me on to his laps, cradling me against his chest. I twisted myself around in his arms and put my hands on either side of his face. "I am sorry." I whispered. Before Edward replied he pressed his lips to mine.

"Its fine, love." He uttered against my lips

As we ran towards the house the next morning, I was glad I didn't wear a dress.

"Bella," Edward had said while we were getting dressed, "Wear jeans. We're doing some painting today."

"Painting what?" I had asked. Edward only smiled in return.

Now we had reached the lawn, and I saw the lights on in the guest bedroom next to Rosalie's room. I could hear Rose talking,

"Oh. Let's get this frame." I heard Rosalie say while I sped up the stairs. Before anyone could reply Edward, Renesmee, and I were in the room.

Rosalie was sitting on Emmett's lap, a laptop resting on top of Emmett's hand, on her thigh. Esme and Alice were looking over Emmett's shoulders.

"What are we deciding on?" I asked, leaning onto Edward, who was resting against the doorframe.

"Alexandria's bed frame!" Exclaimed Alice, "We are going to get everything later, but we just wanted to pick it all out first."

I nodded slowly. "How long will she be staying?" I asked Alice.

"I'm not sure. It is still undecided." She explained. Rosalie shut the laptop with a click.

"Well, let's go." Rosalie said, pulling Emmett up with her. Rosalie was being unnaturally...pleasant. It was enjoyable though. I smiled at her.

"Which two cars are we taking?" I asked.

Rosalie looked to Emmett, who looked to Esme, who looked to Alice, who looked to Edward. Edward sighed. "They aren't taking a car, we are." He explained.

"But why not?" I asked.

This time Alice answered, "None of our cars are big enough to fit the things we need to buy. We decided it would be best just to carry the big things and send the bags in a car with you."

"And Edward." I interrupted.

"Sure." Rosalie said slowly.

Edward was driving while I gazed out the window. We had been sent to the Seattle mall by Alice. Alice, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett were supposedly meeting us there.

"Where is Jasper going?" I asked when we were back at the house. Nobody had answered me, they merely gave me a you-should-know-this look.

"Edward," I said, turning my body to face his, "Where is Jasper?" I asked nonchalantly, stretching my legs onto his lap. Edward placed his hand on my jeaned calf and stroked my leg with his thumb.

"He had to go hunting." Edward explained. I should have known that. With a human coming to the house, Jasper needed to hunt as much as possible. I looked down, ashamed. I knew how that made Jasper and Alice feel.

"Its fine, love." Edward said, craning his neck to meet my eyes, "It takes a while to get used to."

We pulled into the large parking lot. It was bizarre. There were only a few cars scattered here and there. "Did Alice rent out the mall or something ridiculous?" I asked sarcastically.

Edward shook his head, smiling. "No, it's only seven in the morning on a Sunday. Most people aren't even awake."

I was so disoriented. I had forgotten that we all 'woke up' at the first streaks of light filtering through the clouds.

"Oh." I said, laughing at my foolishness.

We got out of the silver Volvo in the parking garage and walked into the mall holding hands. Entering through the Macy's entrance, I was overwhelmed by all the scents that hit me. The perfumes, smell of leather, cleaning supplies, and humans all mixed together in a strange aroma.

"They're in pottery barn." Edward murmured quietly.

I was pulled to the elevator. Once stepping on it, I was quickly irritated. It was moving so slow. I could scale up the column to my left, using only my fingers and get up faster than this was moving. Edward could sense my frustration. He chuckled under his breath.

"Inconspicuous." He muttered.

I giggled but was cut short by the massive store that opened in front of us as we neared the top of the escalator. It had white paneling and big open windows. I saw the back of a blonde's head considering a bed frame, and a petite frame with black spiky hair dash past the window. I looked up at the sign and sure enough it said 'Pottery Barn' in black letters.

Emmett ambled past the window and gazed out across the open space. He caught sight of Edward and I, and he began to wave. Edward made a little wave back and ducked to give me a peck on the cheek.

As the new scents overwhelmed me again, I was also overwhelmed by the content packed into the little space.

"Bella!" Alice's chiming voice called to me. I followed the sound of her voice to the bedding section.

She was holding three different comforters. They were both pale, shallow colors. The one in her left hand was sky blue and the other two were baby pink and light lavender. "Which one?" She questioned.

"I don't know, Alice." I said, I was exhausted already and I had only been in the mall for ten minutes.

"Fine, Bella." Alice replied, turning around and debating between the three comforters. I shrugged and turned the opposite way.

On my way to find Edward, I saw Rosalie. She was gazing at a bed frame. It was a white, simple, low to the ground, boxy frame.

"Do you like it, Bella." She asked without looking up.

"Uh…sure." I answered, surprised she had asked.

"Yeah…me neither." She concluded, stepping away from the bed and moving on to the next.

After shopping for five hours, Rosalie had convinced the various teen boy employees that they would just use the flat, trolley to transfer the assorted, large boxes to the car. She had used the vampire charm, and in five minutes after check out we were all headed out of the mall.

Emmett pushed the rolling cart out onto the parking garage. Rosalie, Esme, Alice, and Emmett all reached down to pick up one of the massive boxes. Alice looked especially awkward carrying a box that could fit a small arm chair.

"See you at home." Edward said.

We watched as they took off at full vampire speed into the forest down the road. Even though they had to take a round-about way, they would get home far before us.

"We need to make a stop." Edward broke the silence, pulling into a parking lot. I gave him his hand back and reached for my door handle. I looked out the wind shield, we were in front of a hardware store. I tilted my head to the side. "Alice." He explained, stepping out of the car.

We headed into the store and an employee approached us hesitantly. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked directly to Edward.

"Yes," Edward answered. "We need paint and a lamp." Edward had stressed the 'we' to the man standing in front of us. His shaved head turned to me, almost as if he was seeing me for the first time.

"Alright. Well, why don't we get paint first." The man said motioning for us to follow him.

"Oh, if you could just direct us towards the paint, that would be fine. Thank you, though." Edward said politely, as soon as the man had finished his sentence.

He directed us towards the paint isle. We walked swiftly down the long aisles to number seven. The aisle was more of a square open space. In between the walls with paint samples, there was a desk. Behind the long desk sat a boy, probably seventeen or eighteen, with shaggy brown hair. It swooped across his face. He looked up at the approaching footsteps. His green eyes were piercing.

I smiled at him, and his eyes got wide and then refocused. I guessed I had just dazzled him. I heard a muffled laugh from Edward that would be unintelligible to humans.

"Um, hi…uh, my name is Travis…er…can I help you?" He asked, standing up and tossing his phone onto the chair. He smiled flirtatiously at me, and Edward stiffened at my side. The boy must have been thinking something. I reached for Edward's hand and curled into his side. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist.

I saw the look of disappointment shadow Travis' face. "We need two gallons of paint number 1276d." Edward stated, staring at Travis' eyes that were directed at me. His eyes flickered to Edward and then back to me. Nodding, he turned and went into the back of the store.

Edward leaned down and gave me a peck on the cheek just as the boy turned the corner.

"Here you go." The boy said handing Edward the two paint buckets in one hand. He was trying to impress me by his 'strength'. Little did he know, that Edward could probably lift up that whole aisle.

"I'll take them." I said, intercepting the hand off with my left hand. Travis looked down and saw the large diamond on my ring finger. A look of fear went past his eyes as he took in Edward, smiling gloatingly. He quickly shoved them towards me and looked down at a pad of paper.

"Anything else?" He asked Edward, avoiding our eyes.

"Yes, we need a chandelier. But I can find it." Edward answered warmly.

"Thank you." I said, while turning away to follow Edward towards the light fixtures.

Again, Edward merely asked a sales person for a certain numbered item, they went to retrieve it, and then handed the box to us.

We pulled into the driveway and were met by a jumping Alice and, a less than excited, Jasper. He retrieved the boxes from the back seat then was rushed upstairs by Alice.

Renesmee and Jacob came speeding into the garage just as we were getting out of the car. "Daddy! Come play hide and go seek with Jacob and I." Renesmee squealed.

"Okay. Just one second, sweetheart." Edward obliged. He placed a delicate kiss on my cheek and then scooped up Renesmee.

"No offense, Mommy." Renesmee apologized, "This is just another game that Daddy would be better at."

"Its fine." I replied, "We can have another game soon, and you can decide whose team you will be on that time."

I wandered into the house in search of someone to talk to. I could hear Alice barking orders at people upstairs, no way I was going up to her kingdom. I wandered into the living room and saw Carlisle on the couch. I plopped down on the other side. He continued to read his book. I sighed quietly. No response. I sighed louder. Still, no response. Finally I cleared my throat.

"Yes, Bella." Carlisle acknowledged, without looking away from his book.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you about something." I whispered. My whisper couldn't be heard by any human, and was probably almost indecipherable to the other vampires in the house.

He looked up at me, waiting for me to continue.

"After I had Renesmee…" I began slowly, "I was turned into a vampire." I stated.

"Yes…" Carlisle said, confused.

"And you gave me morphine." I stated.

"Yes…" Carlisle replied again.

"Well…"

"Please share, Bella." My father figure dictated.

"Well, it didn't really work. It didn't numb the pain, it only made me immobile." I whispered very quickly, and almost silently.

Carlisle was now engaged in the conversation. "Really?" He asked, because I assumed that it would dull the pain."

I shook my head. "Well, trial and error is the only way to figure out if something fits." He replied. I nodded but stopped when I heard the sound of a tiny heart beat fluttering in the distance, but getting closer.

Renesmee burst through the back door and hopped right onto my lap. Edward was close behind her. Thankfully, Edward sat on the arm rest behind me.

Jacob came in last. "Fine, you win." He said.

"Okay!" Renesmee shrieked, "Let's play another round. Mommy, would you like to play this time?" She asked.

"I would love to." I said. Jacob smiled and leaned down to whisper in Renesmee's ear. I only heard 'be' and 'mom's team'. Jacob had gotten better at whispering.

"I'm on your team." Renesmee pointed to me.

Jacob ran with us through the underbrush all the way to the line at the reservation. He dropped us at the beach and then doubled back to hide himself. I was glad the treaty lines had disintegrated, finding new hiding spots every game had gotten difficult.

"Shield us." Renesmee whispered. I saluted her and pulled her onto my lap. I had leaped up, into a crevice on the side of the cliff.

We sat in complete silence besides the waves washing onto the beach, the flap of gull's wings, and Renesmee's fluttering heart beat. After ten minutes later, Edward swung over the top ledge of the cave.

"You won." He stated half heartedly.

"Did you already find Jacob?" Renesmee asked sweetly.

I heard a huff from below, on the beach.

"Yes." Edward answered, smiling proudly. He took Renesmee out of my arms and cradled her against him. Leaping off the cliff, I heard the muffled thud from below of Edward landing on the sand. Another muted thump as I reached the sand.

"Come on, Nessie. I'll race you." Jacob said, trotting towards the trees.

"Okay, see you later!" She called, darting in front of me. Edward shook his head, laughing.

"Come on, Edward." I said.

"Do you want to race?" He asked teasingly.

"I think we know who would win that one…" I trailed off, reaching for Edward's hand. He smiled and brushed my hair out of my face, lightly kissing me on the nose.

I found myself being tugged by Edward as we neared the house.

"Is normal, vampire speed not good enough for you now?" I asked, laughing. He shook his head playfully, but he didn't slow down.

The house came into context, and I saw Alice bouncing on the steps of the porch. She rushed out to meet us and pulled me into her arms.

"Bella. I am so glad you're back." She greeted me exasperatedly. Had I been gone that long? I looked up to see the sun beginning to set behind the tree line. It couldn't have been more than half an hour.

I laughed as Alice pulled Edward and I up the stairs, down the hallway, and paused at the door to the guest bedroom. I heard movements from the other side of the door. Alice reached and turned the door handle at an excruciatingly slow pace. When the door did open, I was amazed.

The room had been painted a sky blue, with full length mirrors lining the two walls that didn't hold the closet or massive window. The mirrors had white molding around the edges that matched the white, four post king sized bed. White sheets, a blue comforter, and patterned throw blanket adorned the bed. Along with the multiple blankets, there were also many plush pillows in assorted shades of blue, silver, and white.

The last beams of sunlight, filtering through the skylight, gave a heavenly glow to the room. It made you feel as if you were in the sky.

I walked around the room, gazing into the room sized closet containing the dresser and vanity. It was amazing, I felt like I was dreaming.

"I don't know if I like it." Emmett said. All heads whipped around to stare at him. I could feel the toxic glares, rolling off Rosalie. I shuddered, and they weren't even directed to me.

"What." She hissed.

"I just don't like it, and I don't think she will either." Emmett replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I think I know better than you." Rosalie shot back, receiving a questioning glance from Emmett. "I am a girl, she is a girl. You are not."

"That's what you think…" Emmett said, chuckling to himself. Rosalie's jaw dropped at Emmett's insult. I didn't know whether he had meant it to say that he was a girl or that Rosalie wasn't, but either one would be insulting to Rosalie.

She began stalking over towards him, her muscles contracting in her arms. Edward muffled a laugh as Emmett began backing out of the room. Rosalie continued forward, only to pause as soon as Emmett was in the hallway.

Quicker than a lighting flash, Rosalie had slapped Emmett across the face, using all of her vampire strength. Emmett flew down the long hallway. Sending a quiver through the whole house, Emmett crashed into the wall.

Rosalie flew down the stairs and out the door. I saw her running into the forest. Alice has sat down delicately on the edge of the bed. Esme was standing in her original place, still in shock from her children fighting. Edward had gone into the hallway to get Emmett. I was gazing out the window, to the exact spot in the forest that Rosalie had entered.

**Okay. Long chapter! I owe you guys though, making you wait all week. It was kind of cruel. Not to mention that it was just a bad idea. I lost the next four chapters I had written…*cry, cry* No, really… I started crying. Also my emotions are all haywire lately. My grandma is dying and things just aren't good. But I still got this extremely long chapter out! Now, please review. Reviews are love, and after my terrible week…I think I deserve some love. Review, review, review!**

**Review=Love, love=happy people. Spread some love!! Leave a review!!**

**P.S. I can see how many people read this, and how many leave a review...trust me, the numbers arent the same!!**

**P.P.S. New idea! If i get 15 reviews on this chapter, I'll post the next one. As soon as I get to 54 reviews, I'll post the next one. ALSO, my anonymous reviewer Ben; you havent reviewed! As for everyone else, keep reviewing! You guys are the reason I continue writing. Without reviews, maybe I'll just not write anymore...**

**Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, I NEED REVIEWS. Otherwise, I'll just be selfish and write the story for myself. But, I do really want to put this out there for you guys to read, so review! Even you who dont belong on fanfiction can write a review! Dont know how? Press the button directly below this, type in your comment, press the "submit comment/review" button, and check back soon for the next chapter!**


	13. Again

**I am kind of upset. I didnt get 15 reviews on my last chapter. Only 12, but close enough. I also really just wanted to get this chapter out, but I will not be so leniant this time!**

**Again, if you find it necessary, look at chapter 10 for my DISCLAIMER. If you intend on suing me, I think that would qualify as necessary.**

**Chapter 13.**

"Goodnight, darling." I whispered, while tucking Renesmee into bed, "Remember; any bad dreams, and you can come into our room."

Edward nodded and planted a kiss on her forehead. We turned the lights off in her room and walked down the hallway into our bedroom. I shuffled around the closet, locating my pajamas. Edward had changed into his plaid pajama pants and was leaning against the wall, watching me. I quickly changed into a soft pink, silk dress that hit just above the knees. Trailing my finger against Edward's chest, I lured him into our bed.

Curling into his chest, I murmured, "I'm worried about Rose." Rosalie hadn't come back to the house since her argument with Emmett. I wasn't afraid of her getting into any danger, just concerned that she hadn't come back.

"She's fine. They get in fights often, but generally make up within twenty-four hours." Edward explained, rubbing circles on the small of my back.

Unexpectedly, there was a quiet rap on the door. I looked at Edward's tranquil expression and got out of bed. Reaching for the cream, satin robe that matched the lace on the neckline of my dress, I saw Edward pull a white t-shirt over his head.

We glided to the front door of our cottage, and I swung the door open. There stood Rosalie, glowing in the moonlight. She had a slightly ashamed look on her face as a smile spread across Edward's.

"Hi, Rose." I greeted her, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm fine. But…um…I was wondering if I could stay here for the night?" She asked.

"Of course." I said, gesturing for her to enter the house. She sat down on one of the couches and crossed her ankles, reaching for the TV remote. She turned to us,

"Don't let me be a bother to you." She said, before turning her head and staring straight at the TV.

"Goodnight, Rosalie." I called while Edward was whisking me down the hallway. He leaped into the bed, landing on his back and pulled me on top of him. I kissed him once on the lips, and he kissed me down my jaw. I brushed my hands down his solid abs, and snuggled my head into his neck. Tracing his collarbone with my finger, I heard him whisper,

"I love you."

I heard a very faint sound of static coming from the living room. Shifting my weight to my side, I rolled out of bed. Edward blinked a few times but made no other movement. I reached for his hand and pulled him out of bed.

Repeating our steps, I delicately pushed my arms through the sleeves of my satin robe, and Edward pulled his t-shirt over his tousled hair. Edward threw his arm over my shoulder, and I curled into his chest. We walked down the hallway and into the open front room.

Rosalie was sitting on the couch, unmoved from the position we left her in last night. "Rosalie…" I said slowly and quietly.

She snapped her head around and plastered a smile on her face. "Good morning." She said sweetly. "Is Renesmee up?" Edward shook his head.

"No, but I'm sure she would love it if you woke her up." He said sincerely. It was true. Renesmee loved Rosalie, she thought of her as a second mother.

I heard Renesmee let out a squeal of excitement and rush out five minutes later, pulling Rosalie with her. Renesmee emerged completely dressed.

"Mommy!" She shrieked, "Auntie Rose and I are going back to the house. Do you and Daddy want to come?"

"We will later. We just have to get dressed." I kissed her head, smiled softly at Rosalie and then walked towards our bedroom. I heard Edward kiss Renesmee on the nose, and then speak swiftly to Rosalie.

"You don't have to go back right now. You can wait here until we change, if you want." He offered.

"No, it's fine. I need to face it eventually. It's fine." She repeated under her breath.

From my closet, I heard Renesmee and Rosalie go through the door. I felt a pair of arms wind around my waist, and I could smell Edward. I spun in his arms to face him."What color should I wear today?" I asked, running my finger down his jaw bone.

"Hmm." He pretended to be deep in thought, "Any color looks amazing, your choice." He murmured into my ear.

I spun out of his arms and retreated back to my dresser. I pulled out a deep blue, cashmere, v-neck sweater. Gliding over to the rack with my pants on them, I caught sight of Edward putting on his shirt. I tugged a pair of brown corduroys and wrapped a blue and brown paisley scarf around my neck. I hope Alice will see that my fashion sense is improving; I just had never tried before.

The house came into view, and I could hear the rustle of footsteps across the carpets and wooden floors. Emmett rushed up to Edward,

"Help me." He stated, his eyes pleading. He understood that it was his fault Rosalie hadn't come home last night.

Edward nodded, "Emmett, I know you feel bad. I think deep, deep down Rose feels bad too. But I can't help you, you need to make it up to Rosalie."

Emmett mumbled, "You are so lucky Bella can't hold a grudge on you.", before he walked away.

I chuckled, but Edward was grimacing. "It's okay, Edward. Everything worked out." I murmured, rubbing his arm.

"But what if it didn't? Without the Jacob and the pack, you would have been dead." He shuddered. "Nothing I can ever do will make up for leaving you. I am so sorry." He pulled me into a tight hug, stroking my hair. "I am so sorry."

"Edward." I laughed, attempting to lighten the mood. "Well, I am okay now. Nothing did happen, because the pack was there. I am okay, we are together, and our daughter is waiting for us."

He pulled away, I could see that his face had brightened. Renesmee made everyone happy, it was a proven fact.

"Bella!" Alice gasped when I walked in, the heels on my shoes making a clicking noise as I passed through the kitchen. "Your shoes! They are beautiful!" She rushed over and gave me a hug. I looked down at the first pair of blue shoes I could find. They had a four inch heel on them, which I would have killed myself wearing when I was human, and a ruffled strap going up the front of my foot. The dark blue leather was soft and durable, not to mention that the heel height made me fall just a little short of Edward.

Renesmee bounded in after Alice, jumping up into Alice's arms. She placed her hand on Alice's cheek. Alice smiled, nodded, and then handed Renesmee to me. Renesmee pressed her hand to my cheek.

She showed me Alice taking Rosalie hunting so that we could talk to Emmett. Then she showed a picture of Rosalie and Emmett hugging. I assumed that her montage was telling me that we would help Emmett make up with Rose. I nodded and put her down, smiling.

"Hey, Rose…" Alice called, "Will you come hunting with me?"

"Sure, Alice." Rosalie said, moving smoothly into the kitchen.

Emmett sat in the arm chair, the rest of us sat on the couches, and Renesmee stood in the center. It was clear that she was in charge, as she strutted around the living room. She paused in front of Edward, and he nodded encouragingly. She continued her lap until she reached Emmett. Placing a small hand on his massive knee, she looked up into his face.

"I have an idea." She said slowly. Emmett nodded eagerly. She didn't continue, she just looked up at him.

"Care to share, Ness?" Emmett asked jokingly. A sneaky smile spread across her face, simultaneously, a smile spread across Edward's.

I looked across the island into Alice's anxious eyes. Next to me, Edward had his chin resting on his hands. On the other side of Alice, Jasper stood patiently.

"Edward," Alice said, breaking the expanding silence. "Is it going to work?" She asked. Edward shrugged.

"Alice, you're the omniscient one." I stated, "Shouldn't we be asking you that question?"

She nodded, "Maybe…except right now, Rosalie is dead set on not forgiving Emmett at all. I think she'll change her mind though."

Edward nodded, "She wants this." He agreed.

Alice's eyes glazed over briefly. When she returned from her succinct vision, she was ecstatic. Edward was smiling to himself.

"Did-" I cut myself off as I heard a shape moving in the trees at vampire speed. I also heard Renesmee's heartbeat moments before she emerged from the forest. She sped across the lawn and dashed into the house. In one motion, she was in Edward's arms, and her hands were reaching out towards mine and Jasper's faces.

Renesmee and Rosalie were sitting on a boulder by the river. Rosalie's knees were drawn up to her chest. Rays of sunlight were filtering down through the foliage, sending reflections of light off of Rosalie's skin. They were talking, and all of a sudden Rosalie stiffened. Seconds later, Emmett came into view on the edge of the forest. He meandered towards the rock, sitting at Rosalie's feet. Renesmee politely excused herself and ran to the woods. She stopped just inside the shrubbery. I knew that Rosalie and Emmett would still be able to smell her, and hear her. Rosalie's eyes shifted, glancing over everything but Emmett.

"Rose…" Emmett said tentatively, he was testing waters.

"What." She snapped, whipping her head around. The sudden movement sent her hair fanning out behind her.

"I'm sorry." He apologized. Rosalie didn't reply, she turned her head and fascinated herself watching another brown leaf fall to the ground.

"I love you." Emmett stated quietly. He looked down, a pained expression came across his generally jovial face. She slowly turned her head, looking down at Emmett. Emmett felt her eyes on him and gained confidence.

"I love you, Rosalie. I love you more than you could ever know. We may not show our deep connection like Alice and Jazz or Edward and Bella, but it is there. You know it." Rosalie's eyes softened, but her stone expression didn't waver.

"I need you, Rose; like a human needs air and a bird needs water. Without you, I don't have anyone to laugh at me. I don't have anyone to make me feel special. I want the same for you. I try to give the same thing to you, but I'm just not good at it. Sometimes I don't say the right things, but that is why I need you." Emmett cleared his throat and reached for Rosalie's hand in her lap.

"Rosalie, will you marry me…again?" He asked, looking into Rosalie's eyes. You could see the instantaneous joy that erupted within Rosalie. She leapt off the rock and onto Emmett.

"Is that a yes…again?" He asked chuckling. Rosalie nodded eagerly and lowered her head towards Emmett.

Renesmee's vision cut off. She sat, eagerly waiting, in Edward's arms. Jasper was smiling, Alice was beaming, and Edward was chuckling to himself. I was so happy for Rose. I couldn't think of anything that would make her happier.

As if on cue, Emmett and Rosalie wandered across the lawn, holding hands. Alice couldn't contain herself. The second they came through the door, Alice bombarded Rosalie. She pulled her into a quick embrace, before talking at vampire speed about the wedding details.

"So…Who's telling Esme and Carlisle?" Edward asked above Alice's buzzing. Everyone fell silent.

"I will!" Alice offered.

Rosalie shook her head. "Isn't that kind of our job?" Emmett asked, referring to him and Rose.

I nodded, "Kind of." Rosalie's eyes moved to meet mine, and I smiled warmly.

Emmett and Rosalie stood in the doorway of the living room. The rest of us sat on couches, staring at each other, waiting for the sound of car wheels pulling into the drive way. There were no props this time, nothing to do. We just sat, staring at each other.

Even I could feel the anxiousness in the room as the car wheels turned onto the drive way. I felt bad for Jasper, who was experiencing seven times the amount of angst that the rest of us were feeling. We weren't afraid they would disapprove, or that they would be angry. I couldn't picture Carlisle or Esme angry, and I knew that they would be happy.

When their almost silent footsteps crossed the porch, I saw Jasper flash Alice a warning look. When they opened the door, I saw Jasper put a restraining hand on Alice's leg. I understood why, Alice looked like she was about to explode with eagerness.

As soon as Carlisle and Esme took in the sight in front of them, they froze. We all didn't gather unless there was something important to be said. If it wasn't for Alice's grin, they may have expected something upsetting.

"May I ask what it is you are all going to bombard us with?" Carlisle asked, eyeing Emmett and Rose, the only ones standing. Alice opened her mouth but a quick Tsk from Edward and she shut up.

"Esme, Carlisle…" Rosalie began slowly, focusing on both of their faces. She held their gaze for quite some time, to Alice's disapproval.

"We're getting married!" Emmett exclaimed. "Again!" Emmett looked like he might start jumping up and down.

Carlisle stood, contemplating what to say. Esme dropped the eight grocery bags she was carrying and rushed over to Rosalie. She drew Rosalie into a tight hug.

"Oh, I am so happy. This is fantastic. I can't wait! When are you planning to have it?" Esme was positively glowing with happiness. She turned to Alice. "Alice, where were you thinking? I have some ideas. We must talk about them later, with Rosalie, of course. Bella, do you want to be involved in planning?" Esme asked.

"Uh, sure." I answered. I was part of the family now, and this was very important to Rosalie. It was very important to the whole family.

"Congratulations, Rosalie, Emmett. I am very happy for both of you." Carlisle amended. "Now, I need all of your help putting things away."

Esme agreed and herded us all into the kitchen.

Esme insisted on washing all of the new plates and silverware she ordered online. Renesmee was set to drying them, while the rest of us put the food away.

"That cabinet is for the cereal and chips, that cabinet is for the mixes, sugar, and flour, and this drawer is for the spices." Alice directed, pointing to the newly organized kitchen. "You guys know which food goes in the freezer and fridge."

At a quick, human pace, we put the food away. Seconds after we finished the food, "The plates go on the bottom of the cabinet with the glass doors, and the cups go on the shelf above them. Renesmee and I will put the silver ware away."

We all wanted the last kitchen tasks to be done and worked at vampire speed, except Esme and Renesmee. They worked at human speed.

"Thank you everyone. Good teamwork." Esme said, dismissing us from kitchen duty. We all dispersed throughout the house. Edward pulled me into the living room by my hand, escaping from the kitchen.

"Where to, Mrs. Cullen?" He asked, weaving his arm around my shoulder.

"Hmm." I said, thinking. I smiled and pulled him upstairs. We walked complacently up the stairs and down the hall, guided by my hand. When we turned right at the top of the stairs, Edward took the lead. He ushered me into this old room, closing the door behind us. The big bed was still pushed against the wall, the couch still sitting untouched, and Edward's wall of CD's were still in perfect order. I wandered over to the his music library, running my finger across the binding of the CD covers.

"Do you want these at our house?" I asked. Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"If you want them." He muttered. I knew all of the little quirks in Edward's demeanor that showed his true wants. I spun on my heel, to find Edward directly behind me.

"Well, what if I did want them there?" I asked, my fingers crawling across Edward's shoulder, closing in on the back of his neck.

"Well, then I would want them there." He answered, moving his hands over the sides of my waist. I smiled and stretched up on my toes towards Edward's lips.

"Ten minutes!" Alice called eagerly.

This didn't stall Edward, he knew Alice would interrupt, but it did halt me. We needed to get set up. Edward's lips were millimeters away from mine. I pulled my head back. If I let him continue, I would lose my train of thought. He tilted his head to the side.

"Ten minutes…" I murmured, explaining why I pulled away. He nodded and unlatched my hands from behind his head. He kept one closed in his hand and tugged me down the hallway. I got a glimpse of the guest bedroom. Rosalie was folding the throw blanket on the end of the bed, and Emmett was fluffing the pillows, obviously under Rose's supervision.

Down stairs, Alice was rushing around. "No, you don't have to finish putting the silver ware away. We don't know she is coming, remember?" Alice said to Esme. Carlisle spread out the contents of a manila folder on the dining room table. The sheets had patient's names and information on them.

Renesmee was in the kitchen with Esme. Jasper was sitting on the couch, watching Alice scurry around the house, perfecting everything in her path. Edward sat on the couch across from Jasper, pulling me onto his lap.

"Sure, Jasper." Edward answered Jasper's thoughts. Jasper reached down and collected the TV remote off the coffee table; his other arm was spread out across the back of the couch.

On the TV, they were covering some sporting event. "Here at River Front Stadium, Michael Crayton will jump the length of a football field, on a motorcycle." Jasper snorted a laugh just as Alice walked in. She danced over to Jasper's couch and nestled herself into his shoulder, under his extended arm.

"He won't make it." She stated, "But he won't die either. He'll break his leg, and a rib." Jasper chuckled again.

"Honestly, I don't understand why vulnerable, breakable humans would attempt stunts like these." He said.

"Yeah," Emmett called while coming down the stairs, "It was like Bella in everyday life." He chortled to himself, while Jasper stifled a laugh.

Rosalie came down behind Emmett and swatted him on the back of the head. He pulled her into his body, and kissed her on the cheek. I smiled, watching my brother's and sister's live happily ever after. Edward kissed my hair, reminding me of my own personal fairytale.

Tires turned onto the driveway. Emmett and Rosalie froze. Jasper and Alice's heads turned to the window. A taxi came into view, and the pebbles crunched under its tires.

"Is this the place?" A husky voice asked from inside the cab.

"I think…" A sweet voice said tentatively. Out the window, I could see long, thin legs step out of the car door, followed by the rest of her body. Alexandria was very tall and skinny, like a model. Her dark, olive complexion was accented by her shoulder length, raven hair.

Alice gasped, "I. Love. Her. Necklace." Alexandria wore skinny jeans with a low, with a blouse that had the pattern of gold chains on it. Around her wrists there were tons of gold bangles and around her neck, hung a long necklace with an amber pendant framed in gold at the bottom. She wore tall, dull copper colored boots over her jeans.

She flipped her hair and smiled, almost as if she heard the compliment. The taxi driver got out of his door, and as he walked to the trunk, he gazed at Alli out of the corner of his eye. The man pulled a large, Louis Vuitton rolling duffel out of the trunk, and handed Alli the matching makeup bag. She thanked him and handed him the money, before walking towards the porch.

I dashed to the door, my hand poised on the handle. I heard her heels click on the steps and then on the porch. She paused before knocking on the door. After her first knock, I swung the door open. She stood in front of the door, shocked, her hand still suspended in the air.

"Bella?" She asked breathlessly, staring me up and down. I nodded. She continued, dumbfounded, "Its Alli…Alexandria Diodorus." If her Greek heritage wasn't apparent in her image, her name made it clear.

"Yes, I know."I said warmly, "How are you?" I asked.

"I'm…fine." She said, hesitating. "I'm sorry to-" She froze mid sentence. I heard footsteps behind me, and felt Edward's arm drape over my shoulder. Behind me stood Rosalie and Emmett, while Alice danced up to the front.

"Hello!" Alice sang, her chime voice echoing in the silence. "I'm Alice, and I love your necklace!" It was just like Alice to introduce herself and compliment someone, all in one sentence.

"Um…er, Thanks." Alli said, shaking her head as if to clear her mind. "I'm Alli."

Alice smiled, nodded, and reached for her bags.

"Please, come in." Edward invited from next to me. "Hello. I'm Edward. You know Bella, and that is Rosalie and Emmett." He explained pointing to them, once she stepped inside, Jasper immediately tightened. "This is Jasper, and that is Car-"

"Hello, I'm Esme. This is my husband Carlisle, and you seem to have met my children." Esme said, laughing jovially, while emerging from the kitchen.

"Hello. I'm Alexandria, Bella's childhood friend…" She explained, we all nodded.

"Alli," Rosalie said from the back. "You seem to have some bags, would you like me to show you to the guest room?" She asked sweetly.

"Um…sure, if you don't mind." Alli replied, looking at Esme.

"No, of course not." Esme answered.

Rosalie took the bags, and guided Alli upstairs. "Your skin is gorgeous." Rosalie complimented.

Alli laughed, "Coming from you, that is a huge compliment. You are beautiful."

"Thank you so much." Rosalie said, "And this is the guest room. You can unpack, if you like, or not, whichever you prefer. The bathroom is there. We'll be downstairs." Rosalie explained amiably.

Rosalie was being kind and…cordial. Why was Rosalie being kind and cordial. The only reason I could think that Rosalie, a vampire, was being so pleasant to any other human girl, who was very pretty, was a bad one. If Alli was Rosalie's singer, would Rosalie be able to abstain. Edward was barely able to refrain from killing me, and Rosalie's control was lesser than Edward's.

My body went rigid, and Edward noticed the change. He looked down at me with confused eyes, which quickly changed to concern, as he saw the fear clearly written on my face.

**Muahahahaha. Another cliff hanger. I do feel bad, but they make readers more anxious for the next chapter. Hopefully, this will get me more reviews. At least, 15 reviews on this chapter, and I'll post the next one! You guys! Only two more reviews and the next chapters as up as the sky!! Come on! Review, Review, Review, review!**

**Ughhhh! I am so frustrated. The link wont work. But if you would like to see the ring, go to the tiffanys website, and search for the Tiffany Legacy Collection Pink Sapphire Ring.**

**I do need help picking out a wedding dress! I have a few chosen, if anyone wants to help me pick, I have put the links up on my profile. I also have put a poll up so you can vote. Please vote, and if you would like to send me different ideas or critiscism on a dress, or why you decided to choose that one, blah blah blah, etc. please PM me!!**

**Reviews are love. Love causes happiness. Happiness makes the world go round. Therefore, reviews make the world go round. Review, review, review!**


	14. Abashed

**DISCLAIMER: I'd rather just not talk about it…okay?! I'm not Stephenie Meyer, but I'm using her amazing characters…sue me! I dare you!**

**Chapter 14.**

Rosalie came down stairs, smiling. As she neared the bottom of the stairs, I narrowed my glare. It made me sick that she was smiling about this. _What a disgusting, self centered, sinister, disturbing, bitch!_

I knew that I shouldn't think about Rosalie this way, especially after everything she had done for me, but Alli was, and is, one of my best friends. When we were little I used to think we were sisters! I couldn't let Rosalie kill her. Alli is just as much my sister as Rosalie is.

"What?" She asked me, changing from a confident to defensive stance. She put her hand on her hip.

"You can't do that!" I shrieked at her, crossing my arms over my chest. Our conversation was over tense whispers, no possibility that Alli would be able to hear.

"Do what, Bella?" She sneered, "Be nice to our visitor? This is my house, I can do what I want."

Alice looked amazed, Jasper was cringing from all the negative energy in the room, and Emmett's jaw dropped. Carlisle and Esme stood shocked, how could they not be appalled by her thoughts. Wait, if she was planning on killing Alli, Edward would know. He wouldn't let her.

"What the hell is going on." I asked spinning to face Edward. He looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

"I'm not sure." He responded slowly, "You tell me."

My eyes darted from face to face, around the room. "I think I misunderstood something…" Rosalie nodded in a condescending way. "Sorry, Rose. I thought you were being nice because…because you wanted to kill Alli."

Rosalie laughed, "Bella, Bella, Bella. You don't understand." Her stance relaxed, and I gave her a blank stare. She walked past me and sat down on the couch. "Alice had a vision, and she saw Alexandria. Alice told me that Alexandria was beautiful, and, in her vision, Alli was letting me dress her up, do her makeup, send her to parties, and do everyday human things." Rosalie was smiling, out of pure happiness.

My jaw had dropped half way through her speech. She was being nice, extremely nice, so that she could have a Barbie doll. That was sweet, but only sweet by Rosalie's standards. I began smiling; although Rosalie hadn't always been the nicest to me, she did help me through a tough time. She was also my sister, I want her to be happy.

"I…I'm so sorry, Rose. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, it's just that…well…"

"You generally aren't pleasant." Jasper stated flatly. Everyone around the room made a as-much-as-we-hate-to-admit-it nod, besides Esme.

"But that is who you are, and we love you." Esme interjected. The nods of agreement now had turned to vigorous nodding, nobody daring to cross Rosalie.

"Can I come out?" A forced whisper asked from the kitchen. Edward disappeared and arrived, barely later than he had left, with Renesmee in his arms.

"Sorry." I whispered into her hair, kissing her on the top of her head. She smiled an understanding smile.

Edward coughed, and I heard the sound of footsteps moving from upstairs into the hallway. Alli's boots were the first to emerge down the stairs, followed by her jeaned legs, and her toned upper body. The form fitting blouse accented her toned figure, I couldn't wait to see what the town's reaction to her would be.

"Oh!" Alice exclaimed. I hadn't even realized she blanked out. I heard two sets of paws, softly padding on the earth far from the house. I guess I would be able to get some opinions, but Jacob wouldn't really count.

"Sorry, did I interrupt?" Alli asked, pausing at Alice's outbreak.

"Oh, no!" Alice laughed, "Of course not."

"You are always welcome, anywhere and anytime, here." Esme said.

"Yes. Guests are always welcomed." Renesmee agreed from Edward's arms. Alli's eyes flickered to Renesmee's face, returned to Esme's, and then back to Renesmee. Her eyes grew wide, as most people's did the first time they saw Renesmee, and her arm went limp. It sank down to her side as she stared into Renesmee's deep, chocolate eyes.

She stared into my eyes, then into Edward's, followed by the rest of the family. She saw the resemblance and match of all of our eyes, excluding Renesmee's. She saw the similarity between Renesmee's eyes, and my past eyes.

"You…" She locked eyes with me, then allowed her eyes to flicker to Edward and Renesmee. "You had a baby?" I brushed the hair away from my eyes with my left hand.

"And got married?" She squeaked, her eyes zoning in on my wedding ring. She walked over to me, and grabbed my hand. She examined the ring, stroking it with her finger. She looked at Edward and sighed, switching her gaze back to me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She breathed out. "Or invite me?"

I paused, my face blank, my mind was reeling through possible reasons. "Phone number. Address." Edward listed, his voice was too quiet for her to hear, and his mouth moved too quickly for her to notice.

"I didn't have your address, or you phone number. How was I supposed to tell you?" I said sweetly. " We have pictures, don't we?" I asked Alice without turning to face her. It looked like Alli was in a pretty fragile emotional state, I didn't want to leave her eyes.

"Yep." Alice said, I could hear her move from behind me. She walked across the floor and over to the book shelf. She pulled off one of the many binders on the second shelf and walked back to me. Holding it out in front of me, she revealed pictures I didn't remember being taken. Some were in black and white, and others in color, all were beautiful. I knew somebody had to have been great at photography.

The first page held pictures of the down stairs with nobody in it, the back yard with nobody in it, a picture of Edward before the wedding with Emmett and Jasper at his sides, and a picture of me, sitting in Alice's massive bathroom in my wedding dress, having Alice add finishing touches to me. It was from behind, getting the back of my head and the front of Alice's, while getting the front of mine and the back of Alice's in the mirror.

The rest of the binder was filled with pictures in chronological order; the alter, the backyard, our cake, us dancing. The last page had a picture of down stairs, filled with people, the back yard at the height of the party, and a picture of Edward and me cutting our cake.

By the end of the montage, I had relived my wedding over again, and Alli was on the verge of tears. Her dark green, hazel eyes were shining brilliantly.

Alice snapped the book shut, drawing my attention back to the present. I could feel Renesmee's breath on the back of my neck, she had been looking at the pictures too. Edward was next to me, and the rest of the family had sat on the couches. I could hear footsteps come across the large, open front yard.

"I'm so sorry." I apologized to Alli. She nodded and mouthed "It's okay." She closed the space between us, pulling me into a tight hug. Just as her body recognized the temperature difference, there was a knock on the door. She began pulling away just as it swung open, revealing Jacob and Seth. Jacob waltzed in, heading straight for Renesmee and took her out of Edward's arms.

Seth remained at the door, staring at Alli. She had her back to him, but turned around, her human reactions slower than ours. I heard her audible gasp as she gawked at Seth.

Alice's jaw dropped, Jasper sighed, Esme and Carlisle stared in disbelief, Emmett released one low chuckle, "Seth?!" Rosalie shrieked.

"Alli, this is Seth. Seth meet Alli." Edward said.

"H-Hey." Seth stuttered.

"Hi." Alli said breathlessly. They continued to stare at each other, as our eyes slowly returned to normal size, and Rosalie's head dropped into her hands.

Jacob began chuckling. I turned to face him, this was like magic, how dare he disrupt it. I glared at him.

"What?" He asked, "It's supposed to happen to all of us eventually."

"Mongrel…" Rosalie muttered. It was loud enough for even Alli to hear, but she made no acknowledgement of anyone saying anything. Edward turned his head to me, and Renesmee pressed her hand to my neck. She showed me Edward and me, staring at each other, then she took her hand away and watched Alli and Seth with a smile on her face. I giggled, realizing the comparison between the two pictures.

After five minutes of Rosalie shaking her head and muttering sarcastic comments, Jasper's chuckles, Alice's gawking, and Alli and Seth staring at one another, it began getting awkward.

"Hey, Seth!" Renesmee called from Jacob's arms. He nodded, causing Renesmee to get upset. When Renesmee was upset, Jacob was upset.

"Seth," Jacob said sternly, before softening his tone. "Man. Hello? I know. It's amazing, but there are other people in the room…" Seth shook his head out, and tore his gaze off of Alli. He looked around the room, smiling, as if just noticing the occupants of the room.

"Hey…everyone." He said, switching his gaze back to Alli. I needed to get involved before this got extremely awkward again.

"Seth, Alli is one of my best friends. She is going to stay with us for awhile."

"Don't tell him!" Rosalie hissed under her breath. "We don't need another flea infested pooch!" I wasn't sure if Jacob or Seth had heard, neither took any notice, but Emmett was chuckling.

"Oh, how long are you staying?" Seth asked Alli.

"I'm not sure." She said slowly, "It depends." I could tell she was struggling. Edward hid a laugh by clearing his throat. I flashed him a quizzical look, and quickly returned back to Seth and Alli. Wracking my brain for anything else to talk about, I peeled my shield, _Edward…help. I can't think of anything to say._

"Is anyone hungry?" He asked, glaring at Alice.

"Oh, yes!" Alice exclaimed, hopping off the back of the couch.

"What would you like, Alli?" Esme asked sincerely, coming over to rest a hand on Alli's upper arm.

"Edward is a fabulous cook." Emmett said out loud, before adding under his breath, "Apparently." A small smile spread across Jacob's face. He hid it in Renesmee's curls. I was beginning to notice, that even seven foot Jacob seemed awkward holding a ten year old looking child in his arms.

"Um." Alli said, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Anything." Alice chimed.

"They make excellent breakfast foods, but you'll see that tomorrow. I would suggest Edward's pizza."

"Alright. I can't wait to see him toss the dough in the air." She laughed at her own joke, but everyone else remained silent, bringing her out of her laughing reverie.

"It's so amazing to watch." Seth said, "Even I'm not coordinated enough to do that." Alli's face completely changed expressions. It went from a 'you're kidding' face, to shocked, to completely doubtful. "You'll see." Seth said, reaching for her hand. "But, first I want to show you around." His gaze shifted to Edward, and Edward gave a curt nod.

Alli complacently followed Seth out the back door, and I turned to face Edward. "What did he think?" I asked Edward. Edward smiled smugly and replied,

"You'll see." Before walking into the kitchen, tugging me along with him. He set up the oven, pizza pans, and put the ingredients on the counter, all at a painfully slow, human pace. "Okay, follow me, Signora." I was dazzled…again. Edward's perfect Italian accent was attractive, very attractive. Luckily, I had become more equip with dealing with his dazzling powers.

I found myself in the forest running next to Edward. I was attempting to pay attention to the smells, figure out which way we were going, where they had gone, when Edward slowed down dramatically. My reflexes were dulled, and I was whipped around by my arm. I landed on my feet, but Edward had instantly pulled me into him.

"I'm sorry, Bella, love. I didn't realize you weren't paying attention." He whispered tensely in my ear. His lips tickled my ear, and I felt Edward's hand roaming up and down my arm, checking for any damage. I giggled from the tickle of his lips against my ear, and at his silliness.

"Edward." I whispered back between giggles, "Remember, more durable me?" Edward nodded and smiled my favorite crooked smile. I now realized why we stopped. The sounds of the nearby stream and the whispers of voices in the wind floated around my head. I smiled back and began pulling Edward towards the sounds. He walked much slower but soon picked up the pace, most likely according to someone's thoughts.

We emerged from the underbrush and showed ourselves to Alli, who was the only one without super hearing here.

"Whoa. Hey, Bella…Edward." She watched us emerged with a confused look on her face. "How did you find your way out here?"

"We're good at those things," Edward explained. "Good smell, sight, and memory." She nodded, with an even more confused look on her face, and went back to looking at Seth. "Finish your story." She urged.

"Okay, okay." Seth said, "And then they signed the treaty. The two packs, the two species," He clarified, "could coexist in a way that they thought would work. That is, until a battle that they all needed to fight on the same side. Multiple battles that brought the two groups together, molded them into one group, but allowed them to stay as two different species." Alli was sitting across from Seth, entranced by his 'folk tales'.

It was the story of their existence, all of theirs, and mine that intertwined with theirs. The story was far from another old folk tale, it was a story of love, loss, and magic.

"That is the best fairytale I have ever heard, and there weren't even any prince's rescuing princesses!" Alli said in awe. Seth gave Edward and me a quick glance and then continued.

"It's not completely a fairytale." Seth said, looking down.

"Well, it can't be real." Alli replied, taken a back. Seth continued his new interest with the ground, causing Alli to look at me for consolation, Edward and I turned our gazes to the forest. Alli looked back at Seth, then back to us, her eyes darting between us. "Werewolves aren't real." She stated, almost as if to reassure herself more than us.

Seth looked into Alli's eyes. He held her hand as he stood up, pulling her up with him, and kissed her on the cheek. Then he jogged over to the tree line, faster than should be possible for humans. He returned minutes later in wolf form.

Alli's jaw dropped as she took in Seth. His shaggy, sand colored coat contrasted by the dark forest, the razor sharp teeth that slightly poked out at the edges of his muzzle. I had to admit, even now, I still get the minor tingle of fear at the sight of the wolves, but it quickly evaporates the minute I remember who they are.

Alli had now taken slow steps back towards me and was holding onto my arm. She looked confused, not confused like she didn't know what was going on, confused as if she was contemplating a difficult decision.

Seth let his tongue flop over the side of his mouth, sending a tiny giggle through me. They looked so goofy when they did that. I abruptly stopped my giggle, this was no time to laugh.

I could see Seth's worry in his eyes, even though he made his goofy face. It was an attempt to reassure her he wasn't dangerous. Suddenly Alli lifted her head, she again took in the massive, 'mythical' creature in front of her. She had a look of worry in her eyes, too.

"Seth?" She asked timidly, tightening her grip on my arm.

**Awww. Poor Alli, she doesn't understand! I am so so happy for all of those who have reviewed about the dresses/voted on my poll/spoke to me in person at school! I absolutely love you guys!**

**I really think I should win an award for the longest ending notes on every chapter...**

**I would like to suggest a story that I think you all should read. I have become writing buddies with the author, FloRose. She is an amazing author, and, although I am competitive, I am addicted to this story. Check it out! It's fantastic.**

**Also! I am raising my review amount. There must be 25 reviews on this chapter in order for me to post another one. This is also giving me more time to write it! All those shy people who don't review, I see you! It shows me how many people read and how many review, right next to each other! Come on guys! Reviews make me feel better!**

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**MY LAPTOP CRASHED. Yes, crashed. The power still works, but I cannot see anything or eject the DVD inside it. Im so sorry, but blockbuster is already mad at me. I understand if you guys get upset too! I have sent my laptop away to retrieve everything off the hard drive and hopefully will have it back by the end of the week. I am so so so so so sorry.**

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	15. Authors Note! Sorrrryyyyy!

Author's Note:

Hey guys!

I AM SO SORRY! I feel like such a hugeeee jerk! I know I haven't posted in like forever, but I guess that's because I got kinda bored with where the story was... I'm thinking about just getting rid of this one thing because there's pretty much no point to it. I DO WANT TO START WRITING AGAIN. I promise I will. But, I do have some new ideas. What about alternating points of views? That way we can see what ELSE is going on? Another thing, I have gotten tons of comments and reviews requesting more intimacy, which I definitely will enjoy writing. I love Edward and Bella.

I've also become ADDICTED to this story called "The Ex Factor". In it, all the characters are human. I was also thinking about maybe starting a new story where they might not be vampires and that things may be shaken up and changed around a little... well maybe a lot. Not sure yet.

I would like to say that I am so so so so so so sorry. I totally understand if I have a loss of readers or if you guys come after me with pitchforks. Either are understandable, but just know that I feel absolutely terrible about it.

I will hopefully have a new chapter posted by next monday... maybe? Depending on homework load and such. Love you guys!

3 Bitsy! xoxo


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